We are SHDO - trailers
by Scarlet Rosette
Summary: These are trailers for a potential future story. Want to know more, read inside.
1. Stratos Trailer

**The idea for this story originally came from my sister, Star of Fate, who had created the characters for another story she is working on (which I recommend you go seeing), but made no plans to continue with these characters once her story was finished. I thought it would be a waste to let such interesting characters to just be shelved and never used again, so I asked if I could have them for a story of my own.**

 **Now this doesn't mean I'm cancelling the Kingdom RWBY story (especially not since I only just started that), but I'm sure that the readers can understand that trying to mold characters and plot lines from different media into an preset story can be difficult, so I thought this would be a fun little side project I could work on when I am having a creative slump, and will hopefully help me write the next chapter faster.**

 **Right now, these are only "Trailers" to test the waters a little and see what you think about them. As always, any constructive criticism is welcomed.**

A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.

* * *

" **Stratos" Trailer**

The arid desert winds blew harshly through the Colorless Desert, one of the largest and harshest bodies of barren land in Vacuo – and that was saying something. The terrain was plagued with constant sandstorms and hidden monster colonies, making any attempt to expand civilized life into the area a pointless and wasted effort. That was all the more reason why _she_ wanted to explore the Colorless Desert. A massive body of uncharted territory had to hold some secrets that no one else had discovered, some hidden treasures that had been buried for centuries. And after a week of planning, studying, and searching, she had finally found it: the crown jewel of her research.

There was a plateau deep in the Colorless Desert that stood over four hundred meters in height and was the constant center of the sandstorms, making travel to the area nearly impossible by most conventional means. That's how she knew there had to be something there; it was the biggest question mark on Vacuo's map. And after many days of travel, enduring blistering winds and scorching sunlight, she had finally reached her destination in the eye of the storm. As her eyes traveled up the plateau, she let out a huge sigh of relief, finally coming to realize that her theory had proven true.

Carved into the side of the plateau was a well-crafted building where the large, open entrance was guarded by pair of large stone statues; the statues themselves were missing several pieces including their heads, no doubt from years of nonstop sandstorms. She looked over building's entrance. It looked to be a shrine or a temple built by a civilization that predated the four Kingdoms. Excitement welled up in her chest; this was exactly the kind of historical discovery that she had been looking for. And so, adjusting the large bag she carried on her back and pulling down the hood of her weather-beaten cloak, she climbed the small flight of stone steps into the temple.

Now inside the temple and out of the storm, she reached underneath the cloak into her pocket, pulling out a small cylindrical canister. She twisted the top off and exposed the red crystal inside, which created a warm glow much like a flame. She pulled down her hood and her face was illuminated by the glow of the Dust crystal. A young woman, very late in her teenage years, though remarkably short for someone of her age. Her midnight-blue hair was tied up in a pair of short, choppy pigtails in the back of her head; her fringes softly brushing over her sky-blue eyes.

The intrepid explorer raised the Dust canister above her head to spread the light of the crystal as she cautiously tiptoed down the darkened corridor. Her footsteps echoed unendingly in the corridor; it was a little unnerving if she was to admit it. But she didn't travel an entire week without hellish deserts and sandstorms just to be scared off by a dark hall and a little noise.

She started noticing things on the walls as she wandered further into the temple and held the Dust crystal up against it. They were painted pictures – murals – of men and women dressed in ancient tribal clothing that, she could say for certain, was no longer in style on Remnant. As she walked further along the hall, there were more murals that followed, showing different portraits of people performing mundane actions such as farming crops and collecting water from the river. These murals seemed to tell the culture of the people who once lived there. One thing that she noticed about the portraits was that all the painted people had some animal feature such as dog ears or rat tails – they were Faunus. Strangely enough, she didn't see any murals depicting the Grimm yet.

She approached one of the murals – a gathering a villagers praying – and gently brushed her fingers across the painted wall when –

" _ **This will be the day we've waited for! This will be the day we open up the door!**_ "

She yelped and dropped the crystal on the ground; thank Oum it didn't crack. She fumbled around with her cloak, trying to locate the source of the loud – but very catchy – music, finally whipping out her scroll from underneath the tattered fabric. She looked at the name on the screen and glared in annoyance. She hit the answer button, held the scroll to her ear, and said:

"Oum, Nebula, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

" _Lovely to hear you too, Stella,_ " Nebula replied over the scroll. " _So in what neck of the world are you in now, half-pint?_ "

"Who are you calling a tiny speck of dust that only be seen with a microscope?!" screeched Stella.

" _That's not what I said at all,_ " said Nebula exasperatedly.

"Well, if you must know, I'm out in the Colorless Desert," said Stella, resting the scroll in the crook of her shoulder and picking up the Dust canister. "I followed my dad's research notes and found an old temple hidden inside the sandstorm territory. It looks like the temple used to belong to a Faunus civilization that predates the establishment of the Four Kingdoms."

" _Uh-huh, great_ ," said Nebula absently. " _Hey, do you think I should pack my purple coat or the indigo one? I like the purple coat because it compliments my hair, but I think the indigo one would bring out my eyes. What do you think?_ "

"I'm am about to make a discovery that could potentially rewrite history," said Stella stupefied, "and you're worried about what to pack?"

" _Of course I am; we're leaving for Shade in two weeks, you know_ ," said Nebula. " _We're not going to be able to go back home for months, so I'd like to know there isn't anything that I might want or need while I'm there. Have you even started packing? I don't imagine you've gotten a lot done wandering through the desert like that._ "

"I ask my dad to prepare the essentials," said Stella. "I take care of things like clothes and other stuff when I get back. Don't worry; I'll have plenty of time."

" _Where have I heard that before?_ " said Nebula. Stella could practically feel the eye-roll. " _So in other words, you want me to go over to your house and pack your things so that you can pick them up at the last minutes?_ "

"If you don't mind," said Stella sheepishly.

" _Remind me why we're friends again_ ," said Nebula.

"Because you love me," said Stella jokingly.

" _Right, how could I forget,_ " said Nebula sarcastically. " _So, miss archaeologist, find anything good this time?_ "

"Not yet," Stella admitted, "but I have found some interesting murals that depict the culture of tribe that lived here. For the most part, it seems like they were farmers and worshipers – they probably had their own religion and deity that they prayed to. I have noticed that there hasn't been a single mention of the Grimm since I've been here. This temple might have been constructed before the Grimm came into existence."

" _I thought the Grimm existed since the dawn of mankind_ ," said Nebula, sounding interested for a change.

"That's what all the legends say," said Stella, stopping for a moment to examine another mural – it looked like a chieftain and his children. "But I don't really believe that. The Grimm had to have come from somewhere, just like human and Faunus. Old legends say that humans and Faunus were born from dust and the Grimm were created from the darkness, but that doesn't make any sense. If humans were made from dust, then who created us? Who created the Grimm? The Grimm are incapable of reproducing, so how do they outnumber us ten-to-one? And if every living soul has aura, how come only fifteen percent of Remnant's population can actually use it? There're just so many holes."

" _That's why I'm going to be a huntress; so that I don't have to think about all that heavy stuff_ ," said Nebula, sounding strangely exhausted. " _I'll kill the Grimm while you have a cuppa and an interview with 'em._ "

"That would be something to see," said Stella teasingly. As she turned the darkened corner, she saw a small ray of light shining through an open entryway. "Ooh, wait, I think I see something up ahead. Hold on a moment."

Before Nebula could say anything – no doubt a retort – Stella pulled the scroll from her ear and dashed down the corridor with her Dust Crystal ahead of her. She slid to a stop in front of the room's threshold and cautiously stepped over, dropping her duffle bag near the entrance and capping her Dust crystal.

The light was poking through the eight open windows in the upper level of the room; Stella could hear the rush of the sandstorms as she was still outside. The chamber was a very large open area that was supported by the twelve stone pillars, thought it looked like two of them had broken off since the temple was last occupied. Stella believed that the chamber must have been a place for village gathers or a place of worship, but it was impossible to tell now as the area was half buried due to years of sand piling in through the open windows.

Stella waded in a full circle around the chamber through the sea of sand, inwardly hoping to find something more substantial about this temple than a couple of paintings on the walls. Her first find was a few pieces of carved stones that might have been part of ancient cultural statues, but they were too fragmented to be discerned from common rocks. Find a handful of bones on the right side wall wasn't much help either; they could have just been the remains of another explorer who wasn't so lucky. Stella thought she finally caught a lucky break when she saw an old, weather-beaten leather book half buried in a pile of sand, but the blast thing disintegrated the moment she touched it. Stella pounded her fist into the sand in frustration.

"Oum damn it!" yelled Stella.

" _Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good,_ " said Nebula through the scroll, making Stella jump. She had nearly forgotten they were still on call. " _I take it you didn't find any treasure or old dusty artifacts that would have made us fabulously rich._ "

"Nothing worth taking," said Stella, sighing heavily. She walked over to the middle of the room and plopped herself on a gray bed of rock. "Everything in here is either too damaged to decipher or completely eroded from years of wear and tear. I might be able to get a few snapshots of the murals back in the hall, but it's nothing concrete to tell us when the temple was built."

" _So it's a bust?_ " asked Nebula.

"It's a bust," groaned Stella, falling back on the rock. "This was supposed to be the archaeological find that would put me in the history books! All that research and traveling for nothing! Can't imagine how this could be any worse!" she yelled, banging her heels down in a mini tantrum.

All of a sudden, a hissing screech echoed in the chamber and the ground began to shake. Stella shot up in a panic, fearing that she may have unintentionally collapsed the temple (it wouldn't be the first time it happened). But looked around the chamber, it quickly dawned on her that the temple wasn't shaking – she was. And she was…getting taller? (She could only dream). With a brow raised, Stella spread her legs and stared at the rock…and the rock was staring back at her…with all ten yellow eyes. A pair of mandible rose from the sand in front, the pincers on either side, and, oh yeah, who could forget the oh-so subtle stinger from behind.

You guess it – she was sitting on a Death Stalker.

"Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back," said Stella mechanically.

Stella hit the end call button. The Death Stalker stabbed its tail at the girl. Stella leaned forward and jumped off the Death Stalker's head just before the striker could hit, but the stinger did manage to catch the edge of her tattered cloak, ripping the very thin fabric from her body. But the would-be archaeologist did not notice or care as she flipped in midair and landed across the chamber, sliding several feet through the sand in a bended position with one hand to the ground to stop her motion. Stella snapped her head up and glared at the Death Stalker as she stood, illuminated by the light of the windows.

She wore a midnight-blue bomber jacket with a large white star stamped on the back and a matching emblem on her lighter-blue shirt. Her hands were covered by a pair of midnight-blue fingerless gloves with the same embalms stamped on the back and a black choker on her with a blue crystal dangling from the metal ring. Her dark-blue shorts were held up by a pair of intersecting leather belts, and underneath were light-and-dark blue striped leggings that reach down to her midnight-blue boots. And as Stella raised the sleeves of her jackets, she showed off a pair of metallic bracelets on each wrist that had a row of lights around the edges.

The Death Stalker hissed at Stella, snapping its claws threateningly. The scorpion-like Grimm, Stella noticed, did not take up as much room of the chamber are it should have – counting the raised stinger, the Death Stalker was at least a head taller than her.

"Okay, so it's not full grown," said Stella, taking a step back. "I can totally handle this…I think."

The Death Stalker screeched in a raspy sort of way before leaning its head forward and scuttling across the sand on its spindly eight legs, which Stella found to be very creepy. The dark-haired archaeologist threw out her arm and the light on her left bracelet turned black as an invisible pulse rippled from the jewelry. The duffle bag that she had dropped by the entrance earlier rattled and ripped open; a black blur shot across the chamber to Stella's waiting hand. The Death Stalker was right on top of the young archaeologist with its pincers ready to snap when Stella caught the flying object, spun it around to the Grimm's face, and pulled the trigger. The Death Stalker screeched as the force of the shot the Grimm backwards into the far side wall; dust shook free from the ceiling.

Stella raised her weapon to the sand dwelling Grimm as it shook its wide head. Her choice of weapons was an odd style compared to most other hunters. An arm cannon made from a dark metal that stretched two-thirds the length of her body and weigh twice as much; there was definitely a lot of upper body strength involved in carrying it. Six narrow chambers ran down the length on the revolving cylinder, storing within them six different types of Dust. And, of course, Stella went ahead and branded her emblem on the cannon head. Just because it was meant to kill monsters didn't mean it couldn't look cool.

The Death Stalker tilted its wide head skyward and let out an enraged screeched before scuttling across the chamber. Stella shot a bullet of fire Dust at the Grimm coming towards her, the cylinder of her cannon revolved so that the white chamber was facing up, and Stella pulled the trigger again for a bullet of ice Dust. The Death Stalker did not flinch as the flames licked over its body or when the ball of ice cracked against its face; the scorpion Grimm just kept moving forward. Regardless, Stella shot bullet after bullet of each different type of Dust her cannon stored. Earth had the same effects as the ice, and all the wind Dust did was give the Grimm a gentle breeze.

The Death Stalker reared its tail and jabbed at the young archaeologist. Stella thankfully rolled out of the way as the tail stabbed into the sand, then had to jump when the Grimm's pincer came around from the side. Stella turned around, sliding across the sand backwards, and shot off the remaining two types of Dust she had left. Predictably, the water Dust did little more than cool the Death Stalker off, but the lightning Dust had a much more desirable effect. Arcs of electricity glided over the Death Stalker's body; the Grimm shrieked in pain and flailed its head, smashing through one of the support beams. A massive chuck of the ceiling broke off and smashed on top of the Death Stalker's head; the Grimm merely shook it off.

The initial paralysis wore off and the Death Stalker turned on Stella. The hissing meant it as angry, right?

"Don't like that, huh?" said Stella, grinning mischievously. "Then how about this? And this! And this!"

One – two – three shots of lightning Dust. The Death Stalker took each bullet to the face and spasmed from each jolt shot through its body; the second time it's claw shot outward and smashed through another support pillar, dropping a large chunk of ceiling near Stella's feet. But the Grimm still kept moving, scuttling toward her in that creepy fashion. Stella raised her cannon again, this time aiming for the eyes, and pulled the trigger –

 _ **Click.**_

Stella blinked. Nothing came out. She pulled the trigger again.

 _ **Click. Click.**_

Stella blinked again. She tried again.

 _ **Click. Click. Click. Click.**_

The young archaeologist looked down at the top chamber of the cannon, where here lightning Dust should have been stored, but the chamber was empty.

"Damn," Stella cursed.

The Death Stalker swiped its claw across while Stella was looking down, flinging her across the chamber and through two more support pillars; more of the ceiling started to crack. Somewhere in the somersaulting flight, Stella lost her grip on her weapon and the cannon landed barrel first in the sand. Stella's back hit the far wall – she could feel her bones rattling – and fell forward to the ground on her face. Though disoriented, Stella pushed herself up to her hands and knee until she felt a sharp flare of pain shoot up in her right leg. The young archaeologist flipped around so that she was sitting up and looked down at her leg; the limb was bending forward instead of back right at the kneecap. Most people would have been rolling around, screaming in bloody murder at a dislocated limb, but Stella only grimaced at the aforementioned injury with an annoyed grimace.

"Not again," groaned Stella. Gingerly, she grabbed her leg by the knee with one hand and her ankle with the other. "Okay, this is no problem. Deep breath. One…two…."

Stella forced her leg back into its original position before she could reach three; the young archaeologist let out a brief yelp, but it quickly subsided. She then dropped on her back and kicked her legs forward in the air, throwing herself back up to her feet. Her leg, despite having only been dislocated seconds ago, showed no sign of injury or pain, as if nothing had happened.

"That wasn't so bad," said Stella.

The Death Stalker reared again with its angry hiss and scuttled across the chamber, snapping its claws threateningly. Stella looked around for her weapon and found the cannon halfway across the room, way too far for her to grab before the Death Stalker would be on top of her. But that wasn't a problem for her. The young archaeologist threw out both her arms and the lights of each metal bracelet flashed a different color; the left white and the right red. The six chambers of her cannon extended outwards from the main cylinder and six black handles with triggers on the hilts became exposed. They were Dust Swords.

The white sword was drawn out first, followed by the red sword, and both flew across the chamber, past the startled Death Stalker and into Stella's awaiting hands. Stella did a little pirouette when the blades reached her hand, following in their momentum, and sliced the white Dust Sword to meet the Death Stalker's stinger in the air. When they clashed, there was a flash of white light and the Death Stalker's tail was suddenly cocooned in a ball of ice. While the Death Stalker jumped back in shock, Stella pulled back the trigger of her red Dust Sword and sliced across the Grimm's face. A whip of flame lashed against the Death Stalkers, leaving a redish-orange trail across its mask. The Grimm scuttled backwards and rubbed its claws tenderly across the mark, giving Stella ample opportunity for a strategic withdraw.

Stella made a mad dash for one of the few remaining pillars and slid behind it, resting her back against the stone. She looked down at her Dust Swords. While the blade made from red Dust was the same length of an average sword, her white Dust blade had only about a foot of material left to it. Aside from using it as ammunition for her cannon, Stella had been using the white and blue Dust to keep herself cool in the desert heat.

"Okay, so this isn't looking good for me," muttered Stella, peeking around the pillar. The Death Stalker was scuttling in circles looking for her. "Thing's tougher than I though. I can beat it if I have to fight in up close. Gonna need another way."

As she said that, a tiny chunk of rock fell to the ground in front of her. Blinking, Stella looked toward the ceiling. She had noticed it as much because she was fighting off the Death Stalker, but a spider web of cracks were ripping through the stone, originating from the points that were once supported by the columns. An idea started to form in Stella's head as she poked her head around. Combined with the Death Stalker, they had destroyed half of the support pillars and the roof was just about ready to give. Just needed a couple more….

She stepped up and backed away from the pillar, her finger on the trigger of the white Dust Sword. She sliced the tiny blade through the pillar and the stone was quickly flash frozen in a thick layer of ice; the effort had, unfortunately, diminished the last of her Ice Dust. The Death Stalker noticed and lowered its head charge with its stinger raised. Stella held the trigger of her Fire Sword and whipped it against the frozen column, shattering the structure like glass. The effect was instant – the chamber began to rattle as the largest piece of rubble yet fell from the ceiling and dropped in the path of the Death Stalker, startling it back while Stella made a run for the next pillar.

She pocketed the now empty sword hilt and held out her left arm; the light of her metal bracelet flashed brown. The Earth Dust Sword flew from her cannon into her hand as she jumped toward the next pillar and slashed across it. The column broke so easily – more chunks of rock started to fall from the ceiling. Stella looked up at the mess of a roof. One more ought to do it, she thought.

Stella faced the last column only several feet away, readying her Earth Sword. But before she could make her move toward it, the Death Stalker suddenly jumped over a large pile of rubble and landed in front of the young archeologist, cutting her off. The Death Stalker snapped its claws and jabbed its tail; Stella assumed it was irritated that it had taken this long to catch one tiny (she's not tiny!) human. Hissing furiously, the Death Stalker lashed its stinger at Stella. The aspiring archeologist, however, was quicker. She narrowed her two eyes with the Grimm's ten, taking a single step towards the beast and clashing her edges of her Dust Swords together. From their collision, a ball of molten rock suddenly took shape, hurtling across the air, and splashing all over the Grimm's face.

The Death Stalker screeched as the magma burned against its natural armor, melting the top layer of the bone mask, its ten eyes bursting like pimples. Stella pressed herself against the wall when the Death Stalker's stinger flailed around; it was the one time she was grateful for having a small chest. The Grimm's tail smashed into the pillar behind it and almost immediately, exactly as Stella planned (or it was just really dumb luck).

With that last pillar now gone, the ceiling no longer had the means to support itself and began to cave in under its own weight. Chunks of rocks the size of cars broke away, crashing into the ground and throwing waves of sand in every direction. Stella managed to tuck herself away safely in a corner of the chamber and huddled down with her arms over her head. But the Death Stalker, with its wide body and limited mobility, was shorty trapped underneath the avalanche. Stella could hear the snapping of its bones beneath the rocks and its high-pitched wailing until a particularly loud _crack_ echoed in the chamber and then it went silent.

It was only a couple minutes before the rumbling subsided and Stella felt safe enough to lift her head. The chamber was completely destroyed; a mountain of stone and dirt reached from the floor to the ceiling, burying most of the sand. Stella only saw the Death Stalker's stinger hanging limply; the rest of it was buried underneath a pile of boulders.

Stella sighed, taking a seat on one of the rocks (she doubled checked that it wasn't a Grimm this time), and buried her face in her hands. This trip had been a complete disaster. No artifacts, no evidence, nothing worth taking back with her, she had used up all her ice and lightning Dust, and she had destroyed what could have been a centuries old archeological discovery…again! She honestly didn't know how this day could get any worse.

" _ **This will be the day we've waited for! This will be the day we open up the door!**_ "

Stella didn't even check the caller ID, pressing the answer button and putting the scroll to her ear.

"Yeah?" said Stella tiredly.

"So, purple coat, or indigo?" asked Nebula.

"…indigo," said Stella, falling back.

* * *

 **STRATOS**

* * *

 **Remnant Bio-Card**

 **Name:** Stella Stratos  
\- **Note:** Stratos derives from the dark-blue color (#000741)  
 **Age:** 17  
 **Kingdom of Origin:** Vacuo **  
Occupation:** Shade Academy Student **  
Team:** Team SHDO  
 **Partner:** Honey Malaya  
 **Relatives:** (Unnamed Father)  
 **Semblance:** Regeneration  
\- The ability to repair damaged or destroyed tissue at a hyper accelerated rate and full immunization to all known diseases.  
\- Possesses capacity to restore missing limb, but requires lengthy periods of time due to bone materialization. ( **Note:** milk is found to accelerate bone regrowth)  
\- Due to the nature of semblance, subject possesses no protective aura shielding.  
 **\- Important Notice:** Subject is not immortal. Damage to the brain can cause temporary or permanent loss of semblance.  
 **Weapon:** Void Gear  
\- Revolving arm cannon with six Dust chambers  
\- Possesses six hidden swords forged from Dust. Commonly used types of Dust are: Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Air, and Ice  
\- Cannon chips off Dust Swords for ammunition. Must reforge swords regularly.  
\- Subject wears magnetized bracelets to attract weapons.  
 **Characteristics:  
** \- Aspiring archaeologist  
\- Prone to violence at mention of short stature and small chest size.  
\- Prejudice against people from Atlas.


	2. Honey Trailer

A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.

" **Honey" Trailer**

The shattered moon was at its highest point in the small town of Antumbra, meaning it was well past midnight and the city should have started slowing down for the night. But one part of the town still remained active; men and women were flocking towards Menagerie Quarter in droves. The Menagerie Quarter was a Faunus neighborhood that had been started around the end of the Faunus Rights Revolution so it wasn't uncommon to see a man with wolf ears walking down the street or a woman with a fox tail screaming at a couple of delinquents to get of her property. But tonight was different. The number of Faunus in the city had suddenly tripled for one night, and all of them were headed in the same direction.

The Faunus mass were walking into the neighborhood recreation center two at a time, briefly stopping at the entrance before entering. Standing guard at the doors like sentinals were a pair of men dressed in white and black military-styled uniforms with the mark of a savage beast and claw marks printed on their backs. Their masks were even more disturbing because they were familiar. Though they lacked the color and markings, there was a clear indication that their masks were designed to imitate those of the Grimm; that these people _wanted_ to appear less than human. It was a sickening to think there were people who were willing to become monsters for the sake of a misguided goal.

"Next!" one of the goons called.

Another pair of Faunus stepped up in the line while the last pair walked inside. They were handed a couple of masks like the ones the guards were wearing, only smaller and thinner; just enough to cover their eyes. The Faunus put on the masks without hesitation and walked inside.

"Next!" he called again.

The last person in line stepped to the hooded pair and one of the goons held out the mask for them to take, but flinched as the person slapped the guise out of his hand and smashed it on the floor. The two thugs growled and reached for the swords strapped to their hips, but the newcomer was faster and wrapped their hands around the soldier's throat, lifting them both off the ground with ease. The soldiers looked like they were trying to call for help, but with the person's hands crushing their windpipes, the best they could do was let out a series of choked gasps.

The one holding them was a teenage woman, and very tall one at that; she easily dwarfed both grunts by a foot. Her skin was a rich shade of mocha-brown, her hair was a fluffy mess of honey-yellow that touched her shoulders, and poking through the top of her head were a pair of furry, round bear ears. She wore a dusty-brown, short-sleeved jacket with a tipped honey pot woven in yellow thread on the back, a black T-shirt underneath, a pair of khaki pants with golden steel shin guards, a crooked leather belt, and a cute animated bear charm dangling from her left pocket. Both of her arms were covered by a pair of golden steel gauntlets that reached to her elbows, both of them with stamped with black honey pot symbols on the back of the hands, and four slots opened at the knuckles.

"Sorry 'bout this," said the woman apologetically; there was a distinct drawl in her tone. "But I'm lookin' fer someone who shouldn't be here. Y'all seen a lil bear Faunus roll on by 'ere? 'Round fifteen years old, light-skinned, big round eyes, white 'air. Any o' this ringing any bells?

"Y – yeah," choked the goon in her left hand. "Someone…looking like that…came by five…minutes ago."

"Thank y'all," said the woman, smiling graciously. "And I'm real sorry 'bout this."

Before the pair of thugs had a chance to ask, the mocha-skinned pulled them together and slammed their heads; the impact sounded like cracking thunder. The bear Faunus loosened her grip and casually dropped the unconscious guards on the ground, stepped over them, and walked through the recreation center's front doors. She spotted the Faunus couple that had entered before her at the end of the hall. It looked like they were heading for the gymnasium. The tall Faunus woman followed their lead until they reached the area where everyone was meeting; she did a surprised double take when she stepped inside, letting out an impressed whistle.

There must have been well over a hundred Faunus in here, most of them the tall woman didn't even recognize in the city – they all must have come from the nearby towns, she assumed. And almost all of them were wearing those horrible Grimm masks. There were also a couple dozen of those men in the same military uniforms as the men she had knocked out at the door, most of them patrol the gym and breaking up arguments that cropped up every so often. A few of them had hoisted up a banner of their symbol at the far end of the room, where a small staging area had been built. They were getting ready to make a speech. She didn't want to stick around and listen to what these…criminals had to say. She needed to find her.

The bear Faunus waded through the crowd. It was easy to get through when you were taller than everyone else; the crowd instinctively moved out of her way with weary eyes as if afraid she would crush them under her boot. The bear Faunus craned her head over the crowd until she spotted the back of the head of a girl with shocking white hair and small round ears poking out of her head. With narrowed eyes, the bear Faunus shoved her way through the throng of indignant Faunus, reaching out and grabbing the white haired girl by the shoulder and spun her around.

The younger Faunus opened her mouth ready to yell at her until she got a better look at the person who pulled her around and promptly it her lip. She was a bear Faunus much like herself, but only came up to the older woman's chest with short, choppy hair as white as pure snow and furry white ears to match. It took a moment for the younger Faunus to realize that she was still wearing the Grimm mask and quickly pulled it off, revealing her innocent brown eyes.

"Aunt Honey," said the younger Bear Faunus timidly. "Wh – what are you doing here?"

"Pullin' your butt outta 'ere!" said Honey, snatching the younger girl's wrist. "What were y'all thinkin', Winnie? Sneakin' out after curfew and goin' to a White Fang recruitment rally? Don't y'all know how dangerous these people are?"

"The White Fang aren't dangerous," said Winnie defensively, pulling back her arm. "The White Fang are revolutionaries standing up against the evil humans that are wrongful oppressing Faunus kind. The White Fang stand for something."

"Your mama earns a decent livin' because o' those 'evil humans'," countered Honey. "When your papa died, it was a bunch o' 'evil humans' that gave her a job when they didn't have ta. And, if I remember right, aren't y'all friends with a bunch o' 'evil humans' at school?" – Winnie closed her mouth again, suddenly finding the hardwood floor to be very interesting. "The White Fang might o' stood for something once, Winnie, but now they're just a lousy group o' terrorists that want to hurt humans for some ol' grudge and make life difficult for the rest o' us Faunus tryin' ta get by."

"But – but they fight the bad people," sputtered Winnie. "Like this one boy in my class was picking on me and making fun of my ears – "

"And you think it's okay ta punish the whole world because of a few jerks?" snapped Honey. Once again, Winnie stayed silent. "Not sain' there ain't any bad humans, but there're a lot more good humans, like your buddies from school like Marine an' Jade . They always treat ya right. If y'all join the White Fang, they'd make y'all hurt your friends. Is that something y'all wanna do?"

"…no," said Winnie in a small voice.

"Then let's get y'all outta here," said Honey, taking her niece's hand again. "If we're lucky, your mama will only ground y'all until ya graduate and go ta Shade."

"I think I'd rather take my chances with a herd of Grimm," said Winnie despairingly; Honey snickered.

The taller bear Faunus started leading her niece through the crowd when the gymnasium lights suddenly died and a pair of spotlights shined onto the staging area. Out of a sense of natural curiosity, Honey and Winnie stopped and turned their heads toward the stage. A hulking mountain of a man stepped onto the stage; his footsteps echoed like mini-thunderclaps. He was dressed like any other White Fang grunt except his leg arm was branded with a black snake tattoo and his mask was clearly custom designed; the porcelain visor covered his entire face and was painted to look like an actual Grimm mask. Honey couldn't help sneering at the man as he took center stage, gesturing his arms out to the collective Faunus.

"My brothers and sisters," said the Lieutenant, "how long has it been since the White Fang rose from the ruins of the Revolution, fighting for freedom and equality, only to be pushed back down by humans? You hear stories of humans and Faunus coexisting in peace, but that is all they are, just stories. You know the truth. The humans look down on our kind, like disgusting animals. You see it in your streets, in your schools, even in your only workplaces. Humans watching you with contempt in their eyes. The old White Fang leadership wanted peace with humans through negotiations and boycotts. They thought if they could talk to humans, they could create coexistence. But there can never be peace between humans and Faunus.

"Since the new leadership had taken over two years ago, you have heard the White Fang be called criminals and terrorists. This is propaganda made by the humans. The White Fang are freedom fighters who are willing to do what is necessary to put Faunus kind in their rightful place above the humans. Some of you may have your doubts because we wear the masks of Grimm, but it is the humans who have made us this way. It is the humans who have made Faunus monsters, so we wear the faces of monsters as a symbol of our strength.

"And now it is time for you to don the masks, my brothers and sisters. Join the White Fang and free yourselves from the collars humans have forced on you. It is time to prove that you are not animals – "

"By proving 'em right?"

The White Fang Lieutenant lost his momentum as the powerful voice echoed through the gymnasium; he lowered his arms to his side and leered into the crowd. The audience had broken out in scattered murmurs and whispers, all turning in the direction of the voice. Winnie's jaw had dropped in horror as she looked up at her aunt; Honey was returning the Lieutenant's glare with her fists on her hips, showing she wasn't going to take any crap. The White Fang Lieutenant took a step forward on the stage and leaned in.

"What did you say?" he said in a threatening voice.

"You wanna prove ta the humans y'all ain't a bunch o' animal," said Honey strongly, "but y'all sure act like it, breakin' stuff and attackin' people fer no good reason other than 'cause ya wanna. Only wild animals would act like that."

"Everything the White Fang does is for the good of the Faunus," said the White Fang Lieutenant.

"Is that what y'all think; that y'all are helpin' us?" said Honey, crossing her arms with an angry glare. "Ya White Fang thugs think y'all are makin' things better fer the Faunus, but all y'all doing is givin' humans a reason ta hate us. Two years ago, humans an' Faunus got along just fine. Sure there were a few thick-'eaded bigots 'ere an' there, but there were a lot more people who treated Faunus right. Then y'all had ta go an' turn into a bunch o' terrorists 'cause o' somethin' that happened before most o' us were born. The Revolution is over; we won! Faunus are now free ta do what we want!"

"Like becoming slaves to corporate tyrants like the Schnees?" growled the White Fang Lieutenant.

"Like livin' normal lives!" retorted Honey. "But that don't matter ta ya White Fang thugs – y'all just wanna fight, and y'all will kill anyone ta get it, even Faunus. Yeah, I know all 'bout that" – she sneered at someone of the thugs surprised looks – "I 'ear 'bout Faunus that try 'ave been tryin' ta leave the White Fang. Most o' them end up dead, like ol' man Logan. The lucky ones are end up 'aving ta leave the kingdom forever. If that's y'all ways of protectin' the Faunus, then maybe we'd be better off with our 'corporate tyrants'. At least they keep us alive."

There was a sudden uproar of talk among the Faunus; all of them murmured words of fear and doubt to each other. It seemed that Honey hadn't been the only one to hear rumors of Faunus trying to leave the White Fang only to end up dead, but they had still been on the fence about it. The bear Faunus' confirmation seemed to have been the tipping point. The great majority of the assembly removed their masks and started moving out the doors in droves, pushing past the White Fang goons that were trying to keep them from leaving. When the great exodus had concluded minutes later, the only people left in the entire gymnasium were the White Fang, Honey, Winnie, and a few White Fang recruits.

The White Fang Lieutenant growled and clenched his fist; Honey could feel the anger coming off of him in waves.

"You should have kept your mouth shut," said the White Fang Lieutenant threateningly. "Kill her!"

"Winnie, hide!" yelled Honey.

She didn't need to be told twice; Winnie made a dash behind the bleachers as the White Fang goons began to surround her aunt. Though they were each armed with swords, the goons hardly seemed intimidating when their opponent was several inches taller than them. Honey thought the same think as a smug smirk crossed her face and she raised her fists in front of her.

"Gotta warn ya guys," said Honey. "I'm the best at what I do, and what I do" – _snikt!_ Four curved blades popped out of the gauntlet slots – "is kick butt!"

The first brave White Fang goon came after her from the side swinging his swords at her head, but the bear Faunus turned and blocked the blade with her claws, following up with a knee to the goon's stomach and then a backhand across the face. Three more goons jumped over their fallen comrade and swung their swords from above. Honey covered her head with her gauntlets, stopping the swords instantly, and pushed up to throw the goons off. As the soldiers stumbled backwards, Honey lifted her leg and kicked each of them in the face in rapid succession, sending them sliding across the smooth gymnasium floor. One of the goons hit the stage with the back of his head beneath the White Fang Lieutenant, who was glaring underneath his mask.

One White Fang goons rushed in front of the bear Faunus, intentionally distracting her as another of his comrades dashed up behind her. However, Honey had already seen the attack coming; stretching out her fist out to trap the soldier's sword between her claws and kicking the man behind her in the gut, making him double over. The bear Faunus twisted her arm, snapping the sword in two, and pulled her hand to back-fist the soldier behind her while at the same time kicking the man in front in the chest, throwing them both to the ground.

As Honey resumed her stance – which was akin to a boxer's – ten more White Fang soldiers formed a small circle around her, careful not to get too close for her to strike, but also not too far apart for her to run. The White Fang were getting smarter; Honey made a joke inside her head, but that's for another time. The soldiers moved closed in on the bear Faunus together, but none of them noticed the brief glow of yellow aura that surrounded her before she jumped out of their reach. The White Fang Goon gapped at Honey, who had nearly touched the high ceiling of the gymnasium. Another glow of aura surrounded her and Honey suddenly dropped like a sack of brick, hitting the floor with her fist, sending the soldiers flying across the building into the walls and ceiling while leaving a large crater in the polished wood floor.

Honey stood up and glared at the White Fang Lieutenant across the room, who returned the stare with equal disdain. The bear Faunus took a step toward him, but was cut off by a gunshot that came within inches of her face. Honey turned to her left and quickly brought her gauntlets together in front of her face and raised her left knee so that the shin guard covered her chest as she was peppered in a shower of bullets. Some the other White Fang goons had gotten their hands on guns.

Though her guards, combined with her aura, were doing a good enough job protecting her, it was only a matter of time before her aura barrier broke and they did some real damage. The yellow glow one again surrounded her form and Honey raised her foot as high as she could reach before slamming it down with all her might. The entire gymnasium rattled; light fixtures swung violently from above; banners and equipment fell over and clattered on the floor; pieces of the polished wood floor were broken off and sent flying every which way. It was as if an earthquake had suddenly hit the building. The White Fang goons stumbled over themselves and a couple of them hugged the walls to support themselves. This was the chance Honey was hoping for.

The bear Faunus punched the air with her right fist and the four blades in her gauntlet shot out, slicing through a few of the grunt's guns with astounding accuracy. Honey punched with her left fist and the other claws sprang out to destroy the rest of the weaponry. The dark-skinned woman rushed at the soldiers while they were still scrambling to pick themselves up, jumping into the air with her legs outstretched and slamming the soles of her shoes through their masks. Another goon punched at her from the side, but Honey effortlessly caught the fist in her hand and twisted it around so that his elbow was pressing into his spine. She also side kicked the fourth man of the group into the wall, then spun around carrying the other soldier and slammed the two together, instantly knocking them out.

Clapping her hands of imaginary dust, Honey nonchalantly strode into the middle of the gymnasium. She turned to the White Fang Lieutenant with a cocky grin; she couldn't see his face, but she was betting he wasn't too happy. Honey pumped her fists; a new set of curved knives popped out of the slots of her gauntlet.

"Look like y'all are outta men," said Honey, moving into her stance. "Y'all ready to give up. Please say no."

"Heh, such arrogance," said the White Fang Lieutenant, scoffing. He took a casual step forward off the stage; the wood paneling cracked under his foot. "You should've stay home, little girl. You could have saved yourself a world of pain."

"Yeah, yeah, big talk from a big guy," said Honey. "I prefer to let ma fists do the talkin'!"

Honey grinded her foot into the ground and kicked off, shooting across the gymnasium and up to the Lieutenant before he had the chance to react. The bear Faunus clenched her fist and swung around with all her might against the side of his head. A deafening boom roared through the building with the two collided; the force of the impact shattered the high windows. For a moment, Honey felt very proud of herself. But the euphoria died off very quickly when she looked up at the lieutenant (it had become painfully apparent that he was at least half a foot taller than her). The White Fang Lieutenant's masked face slowly and ominous turned to her as the realization dawned on her. Her punch had no effect; the most it had done was tilt his head.

The Goliath of a Faunus clenched his fist for Honey to see before twisting his body around and drilling the knuckle into her stomach. All the air in Honey's lungs left her in one swoop; she could see stars. The White Fang Lieutenant carried her until her flung her off to the opposite end of the gymnasium. The bear Faunus smashed into the wooden bleachers, which crunched beneath her weight. Though her aura took the brunt of the damage, Honey still winced when she tried to sit up, moving her hand to her side. She pulled up her shirt and grimaced at the purplish-blue swelling beginning to form.

"That's gonna hurt in the morn'n," muttered Honey.

"Aunt Honey, run away!" shouted Winnie urgently from the side. "He's too tough for you!"

"Y'all talkin' crazy, Winnie!" Honey bolstered confidently, pushing herself up. "Guy just got a lucky shot it, that's all! I'll kick his butt, no problem!"

The White Fang Lieutenant marched across the gymnasium purposely slow, planning to savor the beat down, but Honey hopped down from the stand and ran to meet him halfway. The Lieutenant stretched his hand out to grab her, but the bear Faunus ducked underneath the arm and moved in close for a strong uppercut that caused the mountain man to stumble, followed up by a sharp knee strike to the gut. Though off his balance, the Lieutenant did not fall. The giant Faunus threw a punch at Honey, but the mocha-skinned woman brushed the fist over her shoulder and moved in again with an elbow strike. This time the Lieutenant was ready.

The massive man stopped the blow with his palm and wrapped his humongous fingers around her elbow, locking her in place. He then pushed down on the joint and grabbed her by the wrist with his other hand, forcing her into an arm bar. Honey winced as the Lieutenant began to apply pressure on her elbow; he was trying to snap her arm off! Out of desperation, she lifted her foot and kicked behind her, successfully kicking him in the shin. The White Fang Lieutenant grunted and Honey quickly pulled her arm away when his grip had loosened.

The bear Faunus pivoted sharply on her foot and twisted around with her right fist, nailing the hulking Faunus across the face. The Lieutenant spun around with the momentum of the punch, leaving his backside wide open. Honey jumped as high as she could as the faint yellow aura flashed around her and kicked him with both of her legs. Though he didn't go flying like she had hoped, at least the blow had managed to bring him to his knees. Honey hit the floor on her back (the wood cracked underneath her), the yellow aura flashed again, and the bear Faunus flipped back up to her feet before throwing herself onto the Lieutenant's back.

The White Fang Lieutenant growled with great fury when the smaller woman wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist like a possessive monkey. Honey was obviously attempting to strangle him unconscious, but the strength she had moments ago had suddenly vanished and the lieutenant could hardly feel any pressure. The massive Faunus stretched his arms over his shoulders as far as they could reach trying to grapple with the woman, but she was annoyingly stubborn. When his hand got too close to her head, Honey bit his thumb. She bit him! The Lieutenant roared in both ache and fury.

His temper had reached its limits. The Lieutenant finally reached over and grabbed Honey by her hair, tugging at it so hard that it threatened to rip her by the roots until she finally let go. He flung the shorter woman over in a high arc and slammed her down to the ground at his feet, keeping a firm grip on her hairline. Honey let out an audible gulp as she stared up at the masked Faunus. He looked so pissed.

"Uh…Winnie, I think there might be a little problem!" yelled Honey panicking.

"A _Little_ problem?" repeated Winnie flabbergasted.

The Lieutenant pulled Honey up by her hair, making her wince from the sharp pain in her skull, turned her around to where she was staring at the floor, and smashed her face-first into the wooden paneling. He lifted her head up, only to slam it down a second time. Then a third. Then a fourth. Finally he pulled her up to full height before slamming his knee into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her again. And then, still pulling at her by her hair, pivoted on his heel and launched the bear Faunus over his shoulder and flung her to the gymnasium's high ceiling. Honey bounced off the roof and crash landed onto the stage, smashing through the elevated platform.

Honey groaned as she lay amid the wreckage of wood and nails, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open and black out. She had very little time to recover as the White Fang Lieutenant jumped into the air (he got surprisingly high) and started falling in her direction. The bear Faunus rolled out of the way before the goliath-sized man could crush her skull beneath her boots. Honey sprung back up and attempted a sharp roundhouse kick, but the Lieutenant caught her by the leg, lifted her over his head in a high arc, and then slammed her back down on her back. He let go of her leg soon after, but then kicked the dark-skinned woman on the stomach, sending her sliding across the gymnasium floor into the stone wall on the far side.

This was bad, Honey thought, weakly pulling herself up using the wall for support. She could feel it; her aura was running dangerously low. Just one good hit would break her aura shielding and then she'd be a dead Faunus. The bear Faunus flopped on her back against the wall, panting, her heart running a hundred miles a minute, as she looked tiredly at the White Fang Lieutenant, who was marching threateningly towards her. This was a bad situation. And what does she do during a bad situation: make it worse!

"Is…is that all ya got… _punk?_ " Honey spat. The Lieutenant grabbed her by the collar. "Oh dear."

The White Fang Lieutenant lifted her off the ground with ease, holding her above her head with one hand wrapped tightly around her neck and the other grappling her leg.

"You spoke out against your own cause and ruined our rally," said the White Fang Lieutenant dangerously. "Such an act would warrant death. But death would only end your agony and silence your shame. Instead, I will simply break you. Snap your spine in two so that you may live the rest of your live in pain and fear."

"Not if…not if I…break you first," said Honey defiantly.

"Foolish little girl," said the White Fang Lieutenant mockingly. "What could you possibly – Wha…what are…you…GAH!"

Without the Lieutenant's notice, the yellow aura flared around her body, much stronger than it had ever been previously; it was like a beacon of light in the dark building. And as Honey's aura grew stronger and stronger, the White Fang Lieutenant started to become noticeably uncomfortable. His arms were shaking, sweat was dripping underneath his mask, and his legs looked like they were about to buckle at any moment. Despite his strength, he seemed to struggle keeping Honey suspended over his head until –

 _ **CRACK!**_

The noise carried through the gymnasium like a gunshot; The White Fang Lieutenant roared like a wounded animal. His left arm fell limp at his side ad dropped Honey on the floor at his feet. The bear Faunus not only cracked through the wooden floor when she landed, but also left an imprint in the cement underneath. The aura around Honey soon settled and the dark-skinned woman pushed herself up by her elbows, wincing and holding her side. The White Fang Lieutenant hovered over her with his right arm tenderly clutching the left by the elbow; the limb was swaying pathetically beside him.

Honey and the White Fang Lieutenant shared heated glared. The mountain-sized mountain didn't look like he was going to take this embarrassment sitting down. He reached out his massive hand ready to choke the life out of the woman when he froze. He heard something, and soon enough, Honey heard it too: sirens. Someone must have finally called the police. The White Fang Lieutenant glared at the high windows at the red and blue light flashing through, then turned to Honey and said:

"Pray that we do not meet again. Or I will not be so generous."

And with that final threat, the White Fang Lieutenant tackled his way through the back doors and disappeared into the night.

Honey let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The bear Faunus put a lot of effort in as she tried to stand back up, but just as she started to stand on her feet, her knees finally gave out and started falling forward. Thankfully, she never hit the floor. Winnie had rushed from her hiding place to her aunt's side, lifting one of the taller woman's arms over her shoulder for support.

"I gotcha, Aunt Honey," said Winnie.

"Thanks, Winnie," said Honey graciously. "That guy nailed me good. It's amazing I'm still alive, ta be 'onest."

"Aunt Honey, I'm…I'm sorry," said Winnie remorsefully; her ears dropped a little. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't come here, you wouldn't have had to chase me and you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Then a lot o' Faunus woulda been forced ta joinin' instead," said Honey. "I'm sorta glad I came 'ere. Someone needed ta talk some sense inta them. An' I 'ope ya learned yer lesson, Winnie. Don't go balmin' everyone so somethin' 'cause of a few stupid people."

"Yeah, I got it," said Winnie, nodding.

"Well, good," said Honey. "Now let's git on outta 'ere. Maybe on the way 'ome, we can stop by that burger place ya like so much."

"Wow, that's great, Aunt Honey," said Winnie cheerfully.

"'Cause that's the last meal yer gonna 'ave till graduation," said Honey with a mischievous smirk.

"Should've seen that one coming," said Winnie, hanging her head in defeat.

* * *

 **STRATOS  
HONEY**

* * *

 **Remnant Bio-Card**

 **N** **ame:** Honey Malaya  
 **Age:** 17  
 **Kingdom of Origin:** Vacuo **  
Occupation:** Shade Academy Student **  
Team:** Team SHDO  
 **Partner:** Stella Stratos  
 **Relatives:** Winnie (Niece), (Unnamed Sister)  
 **Semblance:** Weight  
\- Can freely alter the weight of the subject ranging between one pound to three thousand pounds.  
\- Adding weight increases strength, but lowers mobility.  
\- Losing weight increases speed, but lowers endurance.  
 **Weapon:** Keris Hari  
\- Tempered steel gauntlets with hidden knife mechanism.  
\- Knives can be launched as projectiles  
 **Characteristics:  
** \- Despite possessing boxing style weapons, subject's preferred method of combat is kickboxing  
\- Subject consumes four thousand calories of food per day.  
\- Ironically, subject is allergic to honey.


	3. Domino Trailer

A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.

" **Domino" Trailer**

The Atlasian Military Defense Headquarters – the most heavily fortified building in the entire kingdom, quite possibly in all of Remnant, and the powers that be put the building smack dab in the middle of the city for all to see. It was a clear attempt to show power. If you somehow managed to get through the six security checkpoints, twelve foot stone barriers with electrified barbed wiring, laser-guided turrets, and the fifty plus security detail roaming the grounds, you should consider yourself lucky. And even after that, there was still the security inside the building itself, which was an unknown factor due to no one ever having made it that far. To this day, Atlas boasts that breaking into their central base was impossible

Well, she was just gonna have to prove them wrong, wasn't she?

Somewhere around the western corridor of the twenty-seventh floor, a pair of yellow-armored sentries (the lowest on the ladder, she reminded herself) were walking down the hall from opposite ends. They met halfway through the corridor and nodded to each other before going about their way (at least they didn't slack off; she had to give them that). They only walked a few paces past each other, however, when they heard a sharp tap from the side. Both men jumped and pivoted on their heels, rifles aimed at the window. Then they lowered their weapons, looked at each other in confusion, then looked back at the window.

A handsome brown feathered hawk with distinctive black plumage was flapping its wings outside, keeping itself aloft while pecking at the glass incessantly.

"It's just a bird," said one of the sentries irritably. "Damn thing nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Hey, beat it!" said the other sentry, smacking his hand on the window. The hawk wasn't scared off and kept pecking. "Hey, get out of here you overgrown – "

 _ **Crack!**_

The corridor echoed with the sound of broken glass and the sentry's head tilted back sharply before falling back on the floor. The remaining sentry looked from the small, dime-sized hole that appeared in the glass, then looked down at his partner and the similar sized hole in the center of his helmet. His breathing became fast. The solo sentry fumbled for the communication device on his belt, but before he could turn it on, a second hole appeared in the glass. The soldier jerked and hit the wall, slumping to the ground not long after; crimson spilled down the white surface.

Once both soldiers were down, a steel hook carrying a line of steel cable smashed through the remainder of the glass, jabbed into the wall, and clamped down as the cable went taut. And from the rooftop of the building opposite the street, a woman started to slide down the cable using a sleek, silver sniper rifle, mercifully going undetected by security on the ground. She dropped off next to the sentry's bodies and holstered the rifle over her shoulder, doing a quick scan of the corridor.

The woman was fair-skinned like all Atlesians were, but had sharp amethyst eyes and a curtain of shoulder-length black hair; many of her locks were inexplicably white, giving the impression that there were three white circles in her hair. She wore a full-body black suit woven from a strong, synthetic fiber (Kevlar, perhaps?) that was so thin it may as well have been a second layer of skin, and the pulled down zipper showed off much of her ample cleavage, leaving nothing to the imagination. White pads were set over the areas that covered her breasts, shoulders, elbows, thighs, and calves for an extra layer of protection and wore a belt with six pouches.

The hawk flapped inside the corridor and perched itself on the woman's shoulder. The woman chuckled lightly, nuzzling the bird's beak with her finger.

"That's a good boy, Dagger," said the woman affectionately. She reached down into one of her pouches and pulled out a dead mouse. "Look, Dagger, num-nums."

The hawk wasted little time snapped the dead vermin from the woman's hand and going through the disgusting process of digesting the rodent. So while her pet fed, the sniper woman snapped open another pouch and pulled out a small circular device, planting it securely in her ear. She tapped the device; a loud beep ringed in her head.

"Domino to Fall," said the woman now named Domino. "Insertion successfully. Requesting instructions for phase two."

" _ **Excellent work,**_ " said Fall on the other side; her voice always made Domino's skin crawl. " _ **You are everything as advertised, but that was the easy part. You may find the rest of the mission to prove a little more…challenging.**_ "

"You wouldn't have hired me if you didn't think I could get the job done," said Domino pointedly.

" _ **Too true,**_ " said Fall. " _ **The vault is located on the thirty-seventh floor, exactly ten flights above you. It is inaccessible by stairwell, so the only way up is through the central elevator. You were told to break in on this floor specifically because it has the least amount of security. Once you reach the vault, we will begin phase three.**_ "

"Copy that, Domino out," said Domino, cutting off the communicator. "Time to move out, Dagger."

The dual-colored sniper took off down the winding corridor with Dagger the Hawk flapping behind her. Just as her employer explained, the long hallway was nearly empty of security detail; it seemed like the only sentries assigned to roam the halls were the ones she had already handled. She did spy some people through the windows in the rooms she had passed, but most of them were too busy at their desks to look up and notice a young woman in scanty clothing. Either that, or they were all dead downstairs, Domino thought. She had a brief scare when one of the workers walked out one of the room in her path, but fortunate smiled on her when the worker dropped his pen and bended down to pick it up, giving her a chance to jump overhead and rush out of sight before he could spot her.

Domino reached the door to the floor's lobby in record time, sliding to a halt in front of the threshold and taking a kneeling position. She stared at the door with such intensity as if she were trying to melt a hole through the metal paneling with her heated gaze. Domino's pupils contracted so drastically that the black lens disappeared entirely, leaving only the sharp amethyst iris. It was through these new eyes that Domino saw them: auras – the auras of at least seven people on the other side of the door.

Domino's unique semblance was limited to only seeing auras as outlines of people, therefore making it was impossible to tell who they were, but she could venture a guess. The six cluttered around the middle of the room had to be sentries based on the angle of their arms, most likely carrying their rifles. The seventh aura in the room was sitting down, possibly behind a desk, so that must make them a receptionist or something similar. Now that she had confirmed the numbers, the sniper pressed her ear against the door trying to listen inside. The sound was mostly muffled, but she could make out what they were saying.

" – hasn't reported in yet."

"They were patrolling the western corridor. Someone go look for them."

"I swear, if they're taking a break again while the rest of us are working, I'm gonna –"

"We all know you're not gonna do anything. Stop complaining and go look for them. The rest of you, resume patrol."

Their boots echoed very loudly on the other side, some growing fainter and others growing stronger. Domino pulled away from the door and activated her semblance again; a flutter of panic rose up in her chest when she saw two aura outlines standing directly in front of her beyond the door. She had to react fast. The scantily clad woman leaped to the ceiling and pressed her hands and feet forcibly against the walls, keeping her suspended above the doorway at the expense of her muscles flaring painfully. Not a moment later, two yellow sentries stepped through the door, walking underneath Domino without any sign that they were aware of her presence.

"Who does that guys think he is?" one of the sentries complained. "Just 'cause he got that fancy promotion, he thinks he can boss us around. You know, I could have gotten that promotion; I just didn't want it that's all. Too much work, not enough pay."

"Keep telling yourself that," said his partner, no doubt rolling his eyes underneath his helmet.

Domino silently pleaded for the sentries to move faster; her arms were starting to hurt – she really needs to join a gym, she thought to herself. When they finally disappeared around the bend, the sniper lightly dropped down with a pleasant moan of relief. Domino used her semblance again, spying the multitude of auras through the walls and ceiling. It looked like the lobby was clear with the exception of the person sitting at the desk. That wasn't going to be much of a problem in her opinion. The fair-skinned spy held up her arm and Dagger the Hawk instantly perched himself on her forearm, tilting his beak expectantly.

"Dagger, command prompt: Atë," said Domino in a low voice.

The moment those words left her lips, the hawk launched itself from her arm and flapped frantically through the sliding door into the lobby while Domino unstrapped the rifle from her shoulder.

The woman at the receptions desk had been minding her own business, secretly playing Galaga on her computer when she thought no one was looking – they didn't expect her to sit around pushing papers all day, did they? Just as she was about to blow up the final boss, an insane bird suddenly flew down on top of her keyboard, flapped its wings wildly, and shrieked in her face. The receptionist fell backwards in her seat, hit the back of her head on the linoleum, rolled around in pain for a brief moment, and then stood up looking at the hawk timidly. The homicidal hawk shrieked again, spreading its wings in an intimidating manner, but before the receptionist had the chance to cry out for help, she felt something sharp stick into the side of her neck. The next thing she knew, she was out cold on the floor.

Domino stepped nonchalantly into the lobby and replaced the rifle on her shoulder; Dagger perched himself on his master's shoulder. She stopped in front of the silver elevator doors and hummed, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Though it looked like a normal lift, Domino was careful to notice that there were tiny holes around the edges of the doors; no doubt inferred lasers to set off a silent alarm should someone try to force them open. And instead of a simple call button, there was a digital keypad jutting from the wall. The sniper kneeled in front of the keypad, pulling out a screw driver from one of her pouches and going to work loosening the corners.

"Domino to Fall," muttered Domino, "Security is continuing patrol of the halls and lobby detail has been incapacitated. I managed to hide the bodies in the western corridor, but it won't be long before the sentries notice their disappearance and start doing a full sweep of the floor. I estimate it will take somewhere between ten to fifteen minutes before the bodies are discovered and the building is on full alert."

" _ **By which time, you'll already be in the vault,**_ " said Fall.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Domino, successfully removing the panel and exposing the wires. "Unsurprisingly, Iron-hide thought it'd be best to install closed-circuit wiring with electrical feedback system – no doubt provided by the Schnee Dust Company. Any attempt at tampering with the wiring will send a silent alarm to the security operations center and then I'll have every guard in Atlas on my luscious and shapely butt. Got say this about Iron-hide; he's hella paranoid."

" _ **Then it's a good thing you were provided you with a remote hacking program,**_ " said Fall.

"Yeah, good thing," said Domino.

She reached into another one of her pouches and retrieved what looked to be an ordinary scroll, but when the infiltration opened the device, a wall of blue static appeared on the holographic screen. Domino raised the scroll over the exposed wiring, the device made a small beeping noise, and the wall of static was then replaced by eight white squares with random numbers and letters flashing by at an accelerated rate.

"Remote hacking program is decrypting security now," said Domino. "Shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. By the way, are you ever going to tell me where you got this? I mean, I have a lot of fancy gadgets myself, but – "

" _ **You're not being paid to ask questions, are you?**_ " said Fall curtly.

"I'm barely being paid anything," mumbled Domino; the hacking tool found the first two digits. "For all the trouble I'm going through, you'd think I could – "

The monochrome infiltrator stopped herself mid-sentence when the door to the northern corridor unexpectedly opened and six soldiers stepped inside the lobby. They weren't sentries – these guys were wearing gear marked in blue. Military police. Of all the rotten luck, Domino thought. As far as soldiers go, these guys were ranked the highest underneath the Specialists. The soldiers were talking among themselves until they noticed Domino kneeling on the floor in front of the elevator, panel pulled open, holing a strange device (the third and fourth digit had been identified, by the way). It looked bad no matter what way you spin it.

The soldiers instantly pulled out their rifles and pointed to Domino.

"Who are you?" said one of the soldiers forcefully.

"Uh…maintenance?" Domino excused pathetically; she could hear Fall face-palming through the earpiece.

"This is Unit Delta!" said the soldier, touching the side of his helmet. "We have an intruder on the – "

It was on a snap judgment, but the monochrome infiltrator reached behind her back, wrapped her fingers around the grip of her rifle, and pulled the separate the firearm into two equal parts. The half that was in Domino's hand collapsed and folded into a silver pistol, which the dual-colored huntress aimed at the soldier and squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew into the soldier's open mouth and exited through the top of his helmet; tiny red droplets splashed his comrade's armor. The body dropped and while the other soldiers watched on with horrified expressions, Domino made a dash to the reception desk (she left the hacking tool safely tucked in the wiring).

"Intruder is hostile!" shouted one of the soldiers. "Open fire!"

Domino just barely leaped over the desk and flipped it over before they bombarded her in a hailstorm of bullets. She reached behind to grab the top half of her sniper rifle, which converted into a matching pistol. One of the bullets came close to her head, chipping the edge of the desk. Dust damn it, this went wrong fast!

The monochrome huntress activated her semblance again, peered through the hardwood desk, and located the five outlines of aura on the other side. One of the reasons that Domino had taken so well with shooting was because of her semblance – the ability to locate her target even through solid objects. It was also one of the reasons why _they_ had conscripted her….Domino shook her head. Now was not the time to think about _them_ ; a bullet clipped her hair – her beautiful, beautiful hair! Those monsters!

" _ **What's happening?**_ " asked Fall impatiently. " _ **Why does it sound like you're in the middle of a gun fight?**_ "

"Maybe because I am!" shouted Domino, looking over her shoulder through the desk. "If you'd be quiet for two minutes, I'd like to try not dying for a change!"

" _ **Don't speak to me in such a –**_

"Oh, shut up!" snapped Domino.

The woman on the other end went silent after that (thank Oum).

Once she had memorized the positions of the soldiers through her semblance, Domino jumped up over the edge of the desk and shot off five bullets at each of the militias surrounding her. Rather than aiming for their heads (her weapon in pistol form wasn't strong enough to fully pierce their helmets), Domino shot off the bullets (which had been loaded with a combination of Earth and Lightning Dust) at their weapons instead. The projectile ricocheted off the sides of the soldier's rifles, which started shaking in their hands until they suddenly flew out of their grips and clung to the metal on the walls. Some of the soldiers ran after their weapons and tried to pry them off, but it was no good; they were magnetized.

With their firearms pinned to the walls, the soldiers started breaking out the collapsible swords. Domino took a potshot at the closest soldier's kneecap, making him fall forward into crook of her arm, which wrapped around his throat. Before the soldier had the opportunity to break free, Domino pulled up sharply and was rewarded with a satisfying _**snap**_! The soldier's body went limp, which Domino then used as a club to flail at the next pair of guards that charged at her. While the corpse knocked one of the soldiers off his feet, the other sidestepped the body and reached out, grabbing the monochrome intruder by her right wrist. Domino grimaced; she struggled to free herself, but the soldier bested her in terms of strength.

The dual-colored Huntress started to raise her pistol to the soldier's head, but the military man forced her to turn around, and pulled hard at her wrist until her elbow was digging into her spine. Domino had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from scream; Dust damn it, that hurts! But she had to push through the pain; remember her training and block out the sensation; focus only on the goal. Domino took a deep breath and pushed the hidden trigger on the base of the weapon in her free hand. The pistol straightened and a serrated hunting knife popped up from the gun barrel.

Though it was a wild shot, Domino swung her arm around and, by some miracle, buried her knife to the hilt in the soldier's exposed neck. Domino had to listen to the gurgling sound in her ear and feel the warm wetness dripping down her neck, but the soldier loosened his grip and fell against her. The monochrome infiltrator flipped around, holding up the soldier's body like a meat shield, and started taking shot at the remaining three soldiers over their dead comrade's shoulder. Unfortunately for her, the soldiers were blocked her shots very effectively using only the broad sides of their swords. Guess they didn't earnt their ranks for nothing, she supposed.

"Dagger, command prompt: Hermes!" shouted Domino.

The hawk screeched from his perch in the corner and glided overhead of the battlefield before dive-bombing the soldier's side. The soldier's only saw was a blur of brown and black fly past them before their swords suddenly disappeared from their hands; Dagger carried them off to the side in his strong talons. Domino only needed three more shots on the now defenseless soldiers; one took a bullet to the stomach, another to the shin, and (Domino winced) the last one took it to the crotch. All three of them were downed. They should be happy they were still alive, in Domino's opinion.

"Okay, _now_ the lobby is clear," said Domino.

" _ **Is it really?**_ " asked Fall exasperatedly.

Not even a moment after she said that (in a very rude tone, Domino might add) did the four doors to the lobby open and several sentries came running in. Domino supposed it was a little too optimistic to hope that no one on the floor had heard all the gunfire. All the sentries needed to do was look between the injuries and dead bodies lying on the floor and the unknown woman holding a corpse as a shield before they put two and two together.

"Open fire!" the leading sentry shouted immediately.

If it weren't for the combination of the soldier's dead body and her own aura shield, Domino was sure she'd be full of holes about now. Even with Dagger flapping around the air, scratching at the sentry's helmets, she was severely outnumbered and outgunned on top of being cornered. Just when the situation seemed hopeless, Domino heard the sweet, sweet sound of a soft _ **beep**_ followed by loud _**ding**_! The hacker tool finally got the elevator open!

"Dagger, we're pulling out!" shouted Domino, taking a few stray shots on the sentries.

The hawk glided over her shoulder into the elevator while its master backed up slowly, carrying the dead soldier and returning fire on the sentries. Domino stopped at the elevator's threshold for a moment, turned, and shot the panel wiring; sparks sprayed the floor. The doors started to close behind her. Domino threw off her meat shield and made a daring dive between the doors, only narrowly managing to make it inside before they shut. The dual-colored sniper sighed in relief as she stood up, Dagger taking his perch on her shoulder. The sentry's bullets bouncing off the metal doors sounded like raindrops – harmless. Domino pressed the button to the thirty-seventh floor and the lift carried her upwards.

"Domino to Fall," Domino reported. "I'm making my way up to the vault now. Preparing for phase three of the operation."

" _ **What operation?**_ " said Fall furiously. " _ **The operation is over! You've exposed yourself and now every military personnel in the building knows where you are! It's only a matter of time before they find you!**_ "

"You said the thirty-seventh floor was only accessible by the elevator, right?" asked Domino.

" _ **Yes….**_ " Said Fall, not knowing where Domino's line of thinking was head.

The elevator stopped with a _**ding**_ and the doors opened into a semi-dark chamber where a massive circular vault door covered the entire back wall. Domino was careful to inspect the room with her semblance before stepping inside; she didn't want any more surprises like last time. When the room looked clear, Domino stepped out of the elevator and pulled open one of the pouches on her belt and retrieved a grenade. She pulled the pin and tossed it inside the elevator just as the doors closed. The explosion was muffled by the doors and the metallic scraping that followed was getting further and further away.

"Looks like they'll have to take the long way around," said Domino jokingly. She walked over to the vault door and examined it from top to bottom. "Hmm…looks like an electronically sealed, steel-reinforced, forty-eight bolt security door. Damn, these guys mean business. It's completely impervious to anything short of a nuclear blast. The only way inside is through the electronic lock."

" _ **And I don't suppose you remembered to pick up the remote hacking tool when you ran away**_ , _**did you?**_ " questioned Fall irritably.

"Er…," Domino murmured.

She could practically feel the anger rolling off Fall through the earpiece. All right, this is no problem, Domino thought to herself. There had to be another alternative, she just had to think it through. However, before Domino could contemplate the many, many ways she could (hopefully) break into the vault, she heard a sharp noise coming from the ceiling and stared up. The monochrome huntress flipped backwards, landing in a kneeling position with both pistols raised as a massive monstrosity of metal crashed down where she once stood.

The animatronic abomination was painted in a red-and-black color scheme formed from the bulkiest armor Domino has seen yet. The machine possessed not four hulking spider-like legs (Domino assumed that was how it was able to cling to the ceiling), but the designers went into some serious overkill when they installed four large cannons, one for each of its arms and shoulders. The robot's narrow head lowered towards Domino and the line of glowing red light on its face was not reassuring. The machine must have taken offense to her guns because the Spider-Droid (that's what Domino called it) pressed forward with all four cannons trained on her.

"Intruder, identify yourself!" commanded the Spider-Droid.

"I'm sure there's a meme in there somewhere," said Domino, "but…."

Domino took two shots the droid's head. The bullets harmlessly bounced off. Okay…not one of her best ideas.

The barrels of the Spider-Droid's cannons glowed with energy, and Domino barely had any time to move out of the way before the monstrous machine started sending a volley of laser fire on her beautiful behind. The monochrome huntress ducked and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding two shots above and below her head as Dagger took flight to the ceiling. Sensing his master's distress, the loyal hawk dived at the Spider-Droid's head and started scratching at the visor with its sharp talons, but doing little more than leaving tiny scratch marks on the glass. But nonetheless, the distraction was effective and the metallic monster started swinging its bulky fists in the air, trying to knock the bird off.

While the Spider-Droid was distracted by her partner, Domino unloaded the current clips in his pistols and replaced them with Dust-tipped ammunition. The monochrome Huntress charge forward at the machine and fired four shots from her left pistols, which deflected off the armor of each of its legs. Then, all of a sudden, the Spider-Droid started levitating off the ground by several feet – Domino had hit it with Gravity Dust. And as the machine flailed its arms around trying to center its balance, Domino slid underneath the Spider-Droid and peppered the robot's underside with all the Fire Dust in her clip. Sad to say, the armor was as thick on its underside as it was topside.

Domino slid out on the other side of the droid, jumped up, and turned on her heel with her guns pointing at the back of the machine's head. But the Spider-Droid suddenly turned by its waist and swiped its arm across, backhanding Domino with its cannon. The infiltrator hit the wall and slumped to the ground, groaning, and the Spider-Droid finally settled back on the ground – the Gravity Dust seemed to have worn off.

While Domino struggled to push herself to her hands and feet, the Spider-Droid aimed both its shoulder cannons at the sniper and started gathering energy. Luckily, Dagger the Hawk swooped in and scratched its talons across the machine's visor, causing the machine to stumble and throw off its aim, instead shooting at the wall above Domino's head. The Spider-Droid waved its massive arm at Dagger, but chose not to be distracted any further as it raised one of its pincer-legs and brought it down on top of Domino. The monochrome woman barely managed to roll out of the way, jump up to her feet, and started shooting off every bullet she had in her guns out of a sense of desperation. Naturally, the Spider-Droid didn't seem the least bit affected.

" _ **What's going on now?**_ " said Fall impatiently. " _ **I thought you said you were clear of security.**_ "

"There's a specialized Spider-Droid at the vault!" shouted Domino, jumping over the laser fire. "It was hiding in the shadow of the ceiling! It caught me by surprise!"

" _ **I chose you because your semblance would detect their security,**_ " hissed Fall. " _ **How did you miss such a target target?**_ "

"My semblance only sees aura; machines don't have auras!" snapped Domino, rolling to the side. "Can you just stop talking for a moment so I can focus?"

" _ **If you fail this mission…,**_ " said Fall threateningly.

Domino didn't take much consideration to Fall's warnings; she was occupied with staying alive.

While her loyal pet kept scratching at the machine, Domino ducked underneath the Spider-Droid's flailing arm and started climbing on its leg until she was directly in its face. She pressed the barrel of both pistols into the underside of the droid's head, shooting off close to a dozen bullets at point blank range. The shots did no damage. The Spider-Droid raised its arm to grab her, but Domino skillfully flipped over the appendage and fell backwards. But while the monochrome huntress was still in the air, the android fired two shots from its shoulder cannons and both hit their target. Domino was thrown backward, slamming into the vault door, and as she fell helplessly to the ground, the invisible sheen of energy surrounding her shattered.

Her aura was depleted.

Domino grimaced as she steadily tried to pick herself up; every bone in her body was rattled. All of her carelessness was starting to catch up to her; one more blow would definitely kill her. Staring up at the Spider-Droid, she watched as the machine aimed at her with all four cannons, charging them to maximum, and unleashed their combined destructive energy on her. Domino was almost certain she was going to die, and she would have too, if it had not been for Dagger diving in and grabbing his master by the shoulder and pulling her out of the way.

The dual-colored woman hit the floor as the blast ripped through the wall next to them. Domino flipped around from her place on the floor and grimaced up at the Spider-Droid that was charging up for its next shot. Just as the machine was about to finish them, Domino hear an ominous creaking coming from her right side and looked over. The wall around the lower hinge of the vault door had broken off, leaving the upper hinge to support the heavy weight of the door. Eventually, that hinge broke off from the rest of the wall and door slammed on the ground, rattling the chamber, and fell forward.

Domino managed to crawl backwards out of the way of the heavy door, but the Spider-Droid was less fortunate, standing directly underneath. The monochrome Huntress let out a sigh of relief as she watched the machine be crushed into a thousand pieces with a satisfying _**crunch**_. When the dust had settled, the only thing still left intact from the android was one of the shoulder cannons that had somehow become dislodged during the fall (it was sparking slightly, but Domino paid it no mind).

"Well…that wasn't so bad, now was it?" said Domino, standing up and brushing herself off. Dagger gave her the stink eye. "Okay, okay, no need to get your feathers ruffled. Let's just get what we came for and get out."

Domino climbed over the door, purposely stepping on the broken pieces of the robot, and stepped inside the vault. Instead of finding valuable jewels or weapons of mass destruction like normal vaults, the chamber inside was covered from wall-to-wall with hundreds upon hundreds of computer servers. Racks of electronics beeped and buzzed everywhere she looked, connected by thousands of wires of every color in the rainbow, all of them leading to a single computer in the center of the room. Domino made a beeline for the computer.

The monochrome sniper had no trouble accessing the server even without the remote hacking tool. All it took was a few strokes of the keyboard and she was able to override the computer's systems with ease, almost as if she had committed them to memory.

"Domino to Fall," said Domino softly. "I've accessed Atlas's central database. Every piece of information in the entire kingdom is right at my fingertips."

" _ **Excellent,**_ " said Fall, sounding most pleased. " _ **Download every access code and schematic in the Atlesian Military's server network. I want full control of the military by the end of the night.**_ "

"Yeah…about that," said Domino slyly. "Sorry, but this is where I get off."

"… _ **what?**_ " hissed Fall dangerously.

"I was never gone go through with your insane revolutionary world domination plot," said Domino smugly. "I just needed guaranteed access to Atlas's files, and you were surprisingly forthcoming with all the details on their defenses. I would have never broken in without your help. Now that I got what I want, I don't need you anymore."

" _ **You will suffer dearly for this treachery,**_ " said Fall scathingly.

"Maybe," said Domino confidently. "But that's only if you catch me. Later, Cindy."

Fall screamed furiously on the other end as Domino removed the earpiece, threw it down, and crushed it under her boot. Having a laugh at her former partner's expense, Domino turned back to the computer and her finger glided across the keyboard with purpose. She knew exactly what she was looking for, and it didn't take long before she found it within the sea of information.

 **Paladin-290  
P.E.N.N.Y.  
((Prometheus))  
Pudding Budget**

Domino grinned. A few more strokes of the keys and –

 **Prometheus – Files Deleted**

"And that takes care of that," said Domino, stroking Dagger's chin affectionately. It was like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulder. "Let's get out of here, Dagger. We have a plane to catch tomorrow, and I want to be well rested when we arrive in Vacuo."

And for that one moment, when everything seemed right, Domino felt like she was on top of the world; it felt like nothing could touch her now. But, as it always does, reality had a harsh way of biting back.

As she was leaving the vault with a victory under her belt, the sparking from the shoulder cannon reached its zenith and, much to the sniper's surprised, the remainder of its energy gathered within the barrel. Domino had no time to dodge out of the way when the cannon unleashed its residual energy into a single shot aimed directly at her. All she saw was a blinding flash of white….

…

…

…

Domino remembered much from what happened after the cannon went off. She remembered the feel of her eyes burning like they had been staked with a white-hot needle. She remembered feeling Dagger's talons digging into her arm, pulling her to safety. She remembered hearing alarms blaring and soldiers shouting orders as they marched past her. She remembered the smell of Atlas's crisp, winter air when they left the base. She remembered feeling sore and tired as she fell asleep straight away in her cheap motel bed. She remembered waking up the next day to pitch darkness despite it being around sunrise. And most of all, she remembered the feeling of dread swell in her chest when the reality set in and felt the salty tears streaking down her face.

She was blind.

* * *

 **STRATOS  
HONEY  
DOMINO**

* * *

 **Remnant Bio-Card**

 **Name:** {Redacted}/Domino Bones  
 **Age:** {Redacted}  
 **Kingdom of Origin:** {Redacted} **  
Occupation:** {Redacted}/Shade Academy Student **  
Team:** {Redacted}/Team SHDO  
 **Partner:** {Redacted}/Olive Evergreen  
 **Relatives:** {Redacted}  
 **Semblance:** Vision  
\- Allows subject visual sight of auras, including through solid objects  
\- Due to recent blindness, subject can only see auras in a form of echolocation.  
\- Semblance is blind to beings without aura (robots, Grimm, etc.)  
 **Weapon (s):** Pandora, Dagger the Hawk, Utility Belt  
\- Customized sniper rifle able to convert into dual pistols and dual knives  
\- Vacuo Saker Hawk trained to follow specific commands.  
\- Multi-pouched belt packed with military grade tools.  
 **Characteristics:  
** \- Subject suffers from Cortical Blindness.  
\- Wears specialized visor compatible with semblance.  
\- Subjects has a habit of using innuendos


	4. Olive Trailer

A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.

" **Olive" Trailer**

The western region of Mistral was a territory densely populated with thick forests and murky swampland, the kind of place that would be home to the most unsavory of characters. Cutting through the sea of trees was the wide stretch of a dirt road that ran alongside the bogs. The morning sun was beginning to peek over the canopy, and the thin layer of tranquil mists were starting to roll over the footpath, meaning they had to be more cautious of where they stepped or else fall into the marsh. The vast wetlands that were silent only moments ago were slowly filled in by the echoed of repeated clopping and soft rattling.

Approaching from down the road and headed west through the swamps was a small caravan of five horses, a horse-drawn carriage made painted green and embroidered with golden vines, and a lone man that elected to walk alongside the carriage. The men riding the horses were dressed in heavy-looking black armor decorated with golden vine patterns, a sword strapped to their hips, and a sigil on their chest plates that marked their loyalty: a dove with an olive branch in its beak. The same sigil was marked on the carriage doors in golden. But the man walking alongside the carriage was different; he did not don any armor or use a horse for travel. He didn't need them. He was a Huntsman after all.

He was a tall and lean-looking man with eternally smug look on his face that reached to his wine-colored eyes. His hear was a spiked mess of black hair that showed slight signs of gray from age, and slight stubble that only served to make him look shabbier. And yet, despite his unkempt appearance, the man did know how to dress smartly: gray and white dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. Even his tattered red cloak looked handsome on him. And he certainly knew how to accessorize, wearing flashy silver rings on his right index and fourth finger and the silver cross necklace dangling from his neckline. He would clean up all right if he wasn't constantly drinking himself under the table.

Speaking of which, the scruffy old man reached for the flask in his pocket and knocked back a long swig of the burning liquor inside, not at all caring for the disapproving looks of the armored men. When he finally lowered the flask, he heard a soft sound coming from inside the carriage. It was a dainty yawn, and he could see the shadow of someone moving inside through the thin pull down curtain.

"Well, look who's up," said the old man, tapping the carriage door. "Got enough beauty sleep in there, princess?"

"Yes, it was most relaxing," said the voice of a soft-spoken woman. There was a lot of rustling inside; she was changing her clothes. "You must be very tired after staying up all night watching over me, Mr. Qrow. Are you sure you don't want to rest? I could ask the guards to pull over for a bit."

"Are you kidding, I could go a whole week without sleep," said Qrow cockily. "I actually did one time during a hunt when we were being chased by a pack of very stubborn Beowolves. Couldn't get a wink of sleep till my sister punched me out cold."

The woman inside giggled.

"By the way," said Qrow, leaning closer and lowering his voice so only she could hear. "While we were passing through town, I went and got one of those books you like to read. Figured you must be pretty bored; being a teenager stuck inside all day and night. You shoulda seen the look on the guy's face at the register. Hi-larious."

"Oh…thank you," said the woman shyly. "Do you think you can…slip it through the door? I don't want guards to know about it. Oum knows what would happen if word got back to my parents that I secretly purchase those types of literature."

Qrow gave a nonverbal response and subtly peeked over his shoulder. The two armored guards in the rear were scanning the swampland for potential attackers, the two men in front were laser focused on the path ahead, and the man driving the carriage looked close to falling asleep himself (Qrow knew who was getting a pay cut), but none of them were paying attention to him. Perfect timing. The old huntsman reached inside his tatter cloak and pulled out a thick book. The cover depicted of a woman dressed as a pirate dipping another woman in an elegant gown as the sea sprayed behind them with the title (" _ **Love on the High Seas**_ ") written in cursive at the top. Qrow opened the carriage door a small bit and slipped the book through the crack before silently shutting it.

"Thank you, Mr. Qrow," said the woman appreciatively; Qrow hear the flipping of the pages.

"Any time, princess," said Qrow, smiling slightly. "And stop callin' me Mr. Qrow. Don't let the gray hairs fool ya; I'm not that old."

"Okay, but only if you call me Olive instead of princess," said Olive challengingly.

"Deal," Qrow accepted, taking another swig of liquor.

As they advanced further along the road, the fog became noticeably thicker, steady rising from the ankle to a full-blown cloud. The armored guards switched on the flashlights equipped into their armor's shoulders ("That's a handle feature" said Qrow) and pressed on. But while the guards might not have felt concerned about the sudden rise in fog – it was understandable considering west Mistral's climate – Qrow's brow was furrowed as he glared into the mist. The older Huntsman had corked his alcohol and tucked it away in his cloak. And when Qrow Branwen isn't drinking, there's usually a good reason to be concerned.

"Somethin' ain't right here," said Qrow suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" asked Olive; her book clapped shut.

"This fog…it's not normal," said Qrow, slowly checking the area.

"Isn't it just the morning mist?" said Olive curiously.

"Nah, this is something else," said Qrow. "There's something in the air. You might not see it right now, but some of the more experienced Huntsman can learn how to _smell the_ aura in the air. It's a handy little trick that you pick up if you live long enough. And right now, I'm getting a huge whiff of aura all around us. Hmm, smells like beer. The cheap kind. Hey, everybody, if ya wanna keep you're heads, ya might wanna keep a watch out for the fog!"

"We're perfectly capable of handling ourselves," said the captain indignantly. "We don't need to take orders from a drunk – "

A shadow suddenly jumped from the fog and tackled the captain, carrying him into the mist; they heard his screams being carried away before the abruptly stopped. The convoy came to an immediate stop; the captain's horse reared back with fright before taking off into the miasma. The four remaining guards quickly unsheathed their swords, spinning in place and muttering quick, panicked sentences that Qrow couldn't – or more like didn't bother – understand. The experienced Huntsman slowly moved until his back was pressed against the carriage. He could feel Olive turning the knob and pushing to get out, but Qrow held the door shut.

"Qrow, what's happening?" asked Olive in a worried tone. "Is everyone all right?"

"Stay inside, Olive," warned Qrow. "It's too dangerous. Try not to – "

Two more screams from the rear of the carriage followed after, weakening in the distance, before they were ultimately silenced. Then another from the front, and then the carriage driver was taken as well, both of them silenced within seconds. Qrow grimaced, his hand tucked underneath his tattered cloak, slowly stepping away from the carriage out into the middle of the road; Olive had thankfully listened and stayed inside. The old Huntsman's scarlet eyes roamed around the fog, almost as if her were somehow able to see through the haze.

And then all of a sudden, Qrow Branwen spun on his heels, withdrawing his weapon (a single-edged great sword with a clockwork mechanism) and holding out the flat end to block the blade that had been aimed for his throat. The older huntsman pulled against his sword and threw the blade away; he heard a set of feet sliding against the ground. Qrow let out a furious yell, spun in a circle with his sword, and smashed the blade against the ground. The ground exploded underneath the huntsman and a large crater formed in the middle of the road; a powerful shock wave rippled around the spot, blowing away the fog like a fan. With no mist to hide behind, Qrow looked up at the face of the would-be assassin.

He was an older man, right around the same age as Qrow, though his homely appearance made Qrow look handsome by comparison. From the disheveled mess of shock-white hair, to the innumerable layers of dirt on his skin, to the multitude of stains on his clothing, and the pungent stench of stale beer permeated off him in wave. Even his weapons, two bracers with retractable blades, were covered in scratches, oil stains, and bits of dirt; the weapons also smelled like alcohol. This was a man who took no pride in himself, Qrow thought, shouldering his sword.

"Ya got some balls goin' after a Huntsman," said Qrow. "What'm I supposed to call ya? The walking distillery? The human trash bin? No, wait, I got it, muck man! Yeah, that sounds about right"

"Shut #$% up!" growled the assassin.

"Language, pal," said Qrow, holding his sword threateningly. "There're kids present."

"Think I give a #$%!" snapped the assassin. "Just hand over the little bitch, and nobody – "

The would-be assassin did not know the forces he was tampering with, nor did he know of Qrow Branwen's short fuse; you never talked trash about a woman in front of him, especially a kid. The assailent only blinked and the graying Huntsman closed the distance between them, slamming the butt of his blade against the stranger's face. The assassin tumbled across the dirt, but rolled back up to his feet and threw himself at Qrow with his blade gauntlets held out in front. Qrow effortlessly sidestepped the oversized letter openers, grabbed the stranger by the wrist, and flipped him over onto his back. He twisted the assassin's arm, making him cry out in pain, but the assailant tapped his boot heel on the ground and a hidden switch blade popped out from under the toe.

The slob of a killer, twisted his lower body around to swing the hidden knives at Qrow's chest, but the dusty of Huntsman reeled back while at the same time releasing his grip on the man's arm. The assassin flipped around and pressed his palms to the ground, but rather than pushing himself back up, the strange assailant lifted his lower body in the air and started spinning in circles. Qrow stared at the man with obvious bewilderment; his head was turning in circles following the assassin's leg movements. His senses returned to him at the very last second and tilted his head to the side just in time to avoid the knife that had been thrown at his head; the knife stabbed into the carriage; Olive screamed in surprise.

Qrow raised his sword to cover his face and deflected more knives aimed for his (self-proclaimed) gorgeous face. Seriously, Qrow thought, what kinda whack job shoots projectiles from his feet while spinning around on his head? The shots were easy to block enough –the broadside of the sword made an effective shield – but it was annoying just trying to get close to him while he was twisting around like a damn top! After deflecting the sixth (or was it the seventh?) knife, Qrow finally had enough.

Something clicked in his sword, long blade retracted towards the base before folding over, and two long barrels became prominent at the hilt. The dusty old Huntsman sidestepped another knife and aimed the barrels at the ground before squeezing the trigger. A buckshot of bullets sprayed the ground beneath the assassin's hands; the would-be assailant let out a yelp and fell on his side. One stray knife flipped into the air and started falling down on top of the assassin, but Qrow, ever the gentleman, casually flicked the blade away with his shotgun-sword before turning the barrel on the attacker.

"You #$%^&* piece of s-GAH!" yelped the assassin; Qrow stepped on his fingers.

"You know, I have a niece that's a real firecracker like you," said Qrow. He kneeled down and pressed the barrels against the assassin's cheek. "Her mom used ta wash her mouth out with soap so often, she'd be coughing up bubbles for a week. But I don't think that's gonna work on you. So why don't ya make it easy on yourself and tell me who sent ya before I have to get rough."

" #$% you," spat the assassin.

Qrow hit him with the butt of his weapon.

"Ya see, that's the kinda language that get ya into trouble," said Qrow. "Now, please be a good boy and tell teacher why you wanna kill Olive."

"Heh, you think you're so smart," said the assassin mockingly, "be a Huntsman and all. But the thing about Huntsmen is that they're so shortsighted; they always have to play by the rules. But people like us, we always play to win."

While the dusty old Huntsman's back was turned, a silent figure deftly dropped from the trees without alerting him and stalked over to the carriage. A raggedy-looking boy barely peeking into adolescence with unkempt silvery-gray hair dressed in a two-toned black-and-gray jacket, black fingerless gloves, dark orange pants, and black combat boots. His clothes were just as grungy as the assassin's, if not worse. Much of his clothing was ripped a dozen times over – they looked like knife cuts – and the amou8nt of dirt and stains was almost nauseating. And if his clothing was bad, it was nothing compared to the amount of scars and bruises he was carrying, and those were only the ones that were visible.

The young boy stealthily treaded toward the door and reached out for the handle, which was a little difficult when his left eye was swollen shut.

"Lousy, good-for-nothing, old fart," mumbled the boy. He jiggled the carriage handle, but couldn't turn it open; it was locked from the inside. "Fan-tastic. All right, we'll do this the hard way, then."

The boy took a step back, lifted his leg to his chest, and threw a sharp kick. But before the blow could connect, the carriage door suddenly blew outwards, splintering into a hundred wooden fragments on the road, and knocked the boy flat on his back. Qrow jumped up and turned on the moment; the would-be assassin took the chance to put some distance between them. The youngest fighter in the forest groaned, sitting up while holding the throbbing pain in his skull, when he heard a pair of boots hit the ground and took a couple steps toward him. He sneered up at Olive, who returned his gaze with a somber, almost pitiful look.

Olive was the type of beauty that was rarely seen in less-than-glamorous kingdom like Mistral. Her skin was the same shade as her name and impossibly flawless, free of any blemishes or markings with silky-smooth brunette hair that touched the base of her spine, and eyes that shined like emeralds. She wore a flowing dress that started white at the chest and shifted to a soft mint on the way down with golden vine patterns looping around the hem and moss-green doves with olive branches woven in three places. She also wore a mossy-green corset overtop her dress, a green silk cloth hanging from her hip, and a light-brown vest. A silver spiral arm band was wrapped around her left bicep, seven golden bangles clattered on her right wrist, and emerald pendent dangled around her neck.

The Mistral beauty then kneeled before the fallen boy and offered her hand to him. That's when the boy noticed the item strapped to her left forearm: a silver armband with a metallic, six-petal lotus flower attached. The boy recognized that the metal flower was not for accessorizing, it was a weapon. Then that meant this girl – Olive – was a Huntress-in-training. The boy growled under his breath. Figured the old man would overlook a critical detail, or maybe he knew and didn't tell him. That sounded like something the ass would do.

"Are you all right?" asked Olive kindly. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Not any more than your about to be!" snapped the boy.

Olive backed away in surprise as the younger boy suddenly lifted himself off the ground by his hands, showing impressive upper body strength, and swept his legs in a windmill motion. The kick was coming around to the side of Olive's head when the silver-haired boy suddenly had his hands knocked out from under him and collapsed sideways on the ground. The young killer-in-training flipped on his back and stared above, gapping in fright, as Qrow swopped down with his sword slicing across. The boy rolled out of the way just before the sword stabbed the dirt where his head was moments ago, rolled up to his feet and dashed down the road in a run.

With Qrow's attention directed elsewhere, the other assassin punched and kicked the air, throwing several knives at the unsuspecting Huntsman. But Olive saw it. She jumped in between Qrow and the knives with her left arm crossed over her chest and squeezed her hand into a fist. The petal of the metal lotus expanded in a spiral pattern, emitting a green energy that took shape as a transparent round shield.

The knives bounced harmlessly off Olive's aura shield and the clatter redirected Qrow's attention. His wine-colored eyes jumped from Olive's shield, the knives on the ground, and the assassin standing at the end of the road. He was able to put two and two together. The dusty old Huntsman shifted his weapon into its shotgun mode and fired off several buckshots, all of which the assassin dodged by flipping backwards out of their range. Qrow frowned as he reverted back to sword mode; Olive returned her shield to its inactive state.

The assassin glared at the pair from a distance when he was suddenly joined by the silver-haired boy. Without warning, the older man grabbed the boy roughly by the hair and pulled back sharply, causing the boy to cry out.

"You worthless piece of shit – you #$%^& up again!" yelled the older assassin furiously, giving the boy an extra hard tug. "You had one job – ONE JOB – Mercury, and you couldn't even do that right, you #$%^&* piece of – "

"Augh! Dad, it wasn't – OW – my fault!" yelped Mercury. "I didn't know she was – YOW – a Huntress!"

"Wow, this guy makes my sister look like parent of the year," mumbled Qrow, shouldering his sword.

"I recognize that man," aid Olive, pointing to the abusing father. "That's Marcus Black – he's a famous assassin in Mistral. Mother and Father warned me he might be coming after me."

"It would've been nice to know that little piece of info ahead of time," said Qrow disapprovingly.

"Would you have taken this job otherwise?" Olive countered.

"Are you kidding?" said Qrow, chuckling amusingly. "I eat punks like these for breakfast. Feel like tag-teaming these boneheads."

"I don't really know a lot about fighting," said Olive earnestly. "Mother only trained me to use defense techniques."

"Then you watch our back while I worry about the front," said Qrow.

The dusty old Huntsman rushed ahead with Olive nipping at his cloak. Marcus Black, still seething at his son, glared at the two approach duo and threw Mercury away; he ignored, or didn't care, about the splashing in the swamp water. The Mistral assassin took off at a running start and leaped into a flying kick, which Qrow blocked with the broad side of his sword and pushed off. The sword-wielding Huntsman swung his weapon through the air when Marcus landed, but the assassin bended backwards far enough to narrowly avoid the blade edge. Marcus brought his knife-tipped boot to Qrow's neck, but Olive jumped in between with her aura shield, deflecting the blow and causing the assassin to stumble. Qrow took the opportunity for a quick kick to Marcus' gut and knocked him flat on his back.

The water on their right exploded and Olive and Qrow looked over to see Mercury flying at them with both feet forward. Olive the shield maiden raised her shield to take the full brunt of Mercury's kicks, which sent a shiver of pain down her spine and nearly made her legs buckle. Qrow swung his sword at the boy, but Mercury kicked off the shield and flipped backwards over the blade edge before landing safely on his feet. The younger assassin took a daring few kicks to Qrow, but the experienced Huntsman effortlessly slapped the strikes away and then elbowed him in the back. Mercury shuffled on his hands and feet momentarily before righting himself up, turning and sneering at the pair. He was knocked off his feet by the aura shield that flew into his face.

"Nice one," Qrow complimented Olive on the return catch. "Where'd you learn that one?"

"Mr. Rogers was a good friend of my mother's," answered Olive.

"…never heard of him," said Qrow bluntly.

Mercury sat up again, now looking more furious than ever, flipped backwards onto his feet, took a stance, and then performed a sweeping windmill kick against the ground. Dirt kicked up in a cloud of dust to cover them; Qrow covered his face with his sleeve while Olive ducked behind her aura shield. A moment later, Mercury leaped through the haze with his foot raised high and brought it down on top of Qrow's head. The dusty old Huntsman didn't appear hurt by the strike, but he was definitely taken by surprise as Mercury then followed up with a rising flip kick to the older man's chin. Qrow stumbled back a few feet, shaking his head of the momentary daze, when Olive saw Marcus Black jump behind him.

"Look out!" Olive warned.

Qrow snapped up in surprise and looked over his shoulder as Marcus Black came down on top of him with both arm blades down. Her protector would not be able to protect himself in time, Olive realized, and relieved the pressure in her fist to deactivate the shield, then pressed a hidden mechanism with her thumb. The metal lotus petals snapped together and split down the middle to form the limbs of a crossbow.

The Huntress-in-training pointed the crossbow's head at Marcus Black on instinct and a bolt of green aura appeared on the stock. Olive let the bow fly without aiming (which Qrow would chastise her later as dangerous), but her gamble with chance paid off as the bolt stabbed Marcus Black in the shoulder. The older assassin winced from the sudden shock (the aura bolt dissolved into his shoulder), unconsciously dropping his attack and landing behind his target. When he looked up again, he nearly fell over himself when he stared directly face-to-face with Qrow; the sword-wielding Huntsman was grinning mischievously.

"Hey, there," said Qrow tauntingly.

Marcus Black took a step back (Hey, that rhymed!), but that was as far as Qrow was gonna let him. The dusty old Huntsman stomped his foot down on Marcus's ankle, causing Marcus into a kneeling position. He followed up with a sweeping uppercut of his sword that lifted the assassin off the ground by a couple feet, and then did a quick spin kick into the man's stomach that sent him flying across the road. Marcus Black hit one of the thickest trees with his shoulder, causing him to spin before head-butting into another tree behind it; his faint aura field shattered around him. The defeated assassin hit the swamp floor with a squelching _plop_. Qrow was laughing.

"Oh man, I shoulda brought my camera," said Qrow amusingly. "My nieces would love a pic of this!"

Despite his appearance and 'charming' personality, Qrow Branwen really was a nice guy thinking about his nieces, Olive thought. But as the dusty old Huntsman talked about the many ways Marcus Black looked so humiliated, the shield maiden could help feeling they were forgetting something. It all came back to her when Mercury Black jumped out and kicked her in the side of the head.

Olive slammed against the side of her carriage, steadying herself, turned toward Mercury, and quickly ducked when his foot came flying for her face. The young assassin's boot smashed straight through the transport's wooden paneling; something smashed inside – Olive hoped it wasn't something valuable. The Huntress-in-training rolled out from underneath her opponent, jumped up, and aimed her crossbow point blank at his head. But before Olive had the chance to shoot, Mercury ripped his foot through the side of the carriage and sprayed her with wood fragments. Olive instinctively crossed her arms to ward off the splinters, but left herself open for Mercury to attack. The young assassin kicked her in the stomach, making her double-over, high kicked her in the chin to throw her up, then dropped kicked her in the chest to bring her back down.

The shield maiden's body was racked with an unpleasant throbbing sensation; this was a feeling she was unaccustomed to and she didn't like it. And it wasn't helping that Mercury was kicking her in the sides over and over again, looking down on her with a sadistic grin.

"Olive!" shouted Qrow.

Qrow made a beeline to his ward when a pair of strong arms suddenly wove themselves under his armpits and locked behind his head. The Huntsman glared darkly at Marcus Black, who was smirking arrogantly.

"I told you, Huntsman, we always play to win," hissed Marcus Black. "Finish her off, Mercury!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" snapped Mercury.

"You'll do what I say, when I say it you ungrateful little shit!" shouted Marcus Black furiously. "Kill her already and be done with it!"

"You know, it would hurt you to – oof!" Mercury coughed.

Mercury slid back a way, holding his abdomen from when the wind got knocked out of him. He shot an intense glare at Olive, who stood up with her aura shield active. Gnashing his teeth in frustration, Mercury rushed at her and kicked his boot against the shield, but Olive held her ground and did a sweep kick to knock the assassin off-balance. Mercury bounced off the ground, spun his way back up, and flipped away from the shield maiden. His eyes were cold and calculative; a complete contrast to the frustration he had shown earlier. Had that been a ruse?

Mercury closed the distance between them again, starting two strong spin kicks to Olive's left side, which she blocked with her shield, then pivoted on his other foot for a reverse spin kick to her other side. The huntress-in-training saw the hit coming and knocked it away with her free hand; she hissed at the throbbing feeling in her palm. Olive turned around with her shield as Mercury shot four rapid-fire kicks, each one higher than the last, until her shield was angled above her head and left her midsection exposed. Mercury quickly dropped his foot and started to fire up a quick kick to her gut, but Olive predicted that the attack would come and pushed forward with an open palm strike to the assassin's chest.

The silver-haired boy rolled backwards a bit, but managed to flip back into his stance, grinding his boot heels into the dirt to stop himself. Olive and Mercury locked eyes with one another, both wondering who would make the next move.

"Mercury, what the #$% are you doing?" screamed Marcus Black. "She's just one girl! Kill her already, you little shit!"

"You know, I have a brother-in-law that could loan you some parenting books," said Qrow tauntingly; Marcus tightened his grip. "So that's a 'no' then?"

A moment of silence passed between the two warriors-in-training…. Mercury suddenly jumped into the air with a downward spin kick, which Olive naturally deflected. Once he touched the ground, Mercury went into a fast sweep kick that Olive stepped back from and followed up with another spin kick that, once again, the shield maiden defended against. And then, to Olive's surprised, the assassin pushes against her shield to use a support and flips over the edge of the aura weapon before bringing his heel down on Olive's left shoulder.

Olive cried out as a wave of pain raced up and down her arm; the aura shield closed into its inactive form. Before the shield maiden could call her weapon back up, Mercury kicked against her forearm and the silver armband was sent flying down the path, clattering into the silent morning air. He also kicked her in the stomach for good measure, making her slide back several feet as she double over in pain.

"Olive!" yelled Qrow.

"Finish her off, Mercury!" yelled Marcus Black.

"I know what to do!" snapped Mercury.

He waited until Olive pulled herself up into a standing position, shot her a sadistically smug smirk, charged after her, and then jumped into the air with both legs forward to deliver the killing blow. It was as if time had slowed around them; Mercury flying at her while Olive watched on, seemingly helpless to defend herself. But Olive did not show fear; she did not show worry. Her expression, as well as her mind, was explicitly clear.

Without a thought in her head, Olive raised both hands in a slow, sweeping motion and took a deep breath; a thin layer of green aura suddenly radiated from her palms. She pushed her hands forward to meet with Mercury's feet. Like glass, the silver-haired boy's boot shattered into small, shard-like fragments, climbing up further along his legs the farther Olive's hands went. It was only a moment, thought it seemed like ages to Olive, before time seemed to resume normally in her mind and she elegantly sidestepped Mercury, listening to him tumble helplessly on the ground.

Olive gave pause and listened. She didn't hear Mercury whimpering or breathing fast; the shock must have knocked him out. She didn't turn around; she couldn't bear to see the damage the she had caused, unintentionally or not. But she didn't need to see it to know it happened. Mercury Black's legs were completely destroyed, beyond any method of healing, and it was her fault. Olive bit her lip and fought back the sting in her eyes.

"Mercury!" shouted Marcus Black; he sounded genuinely worried for once. "What'd you do to him, you b – "

While the assassin was otherwise preoccupied, Qrow felt the man's hold loosen and reeled back to head-butt him in the chin. Marcus let go of the Huntsman and started to fall back, but Qrow reached out behind, pulled the assassin over his shoulder, and slammed him down into the swamp. The assassin glared up and opened his mouth, no doubt to curse more, but cut him off with a swift kick across the face to knock him out.

"Sleep tight, Black," said Qrow tauntingly. He waded back to the road, making disgusted noises. "Aw man, it's gonna take weeks to get these stains out…. Hey, princess, you all right there?" he asked, noticing Olive's 'kicked-puppy' look.

"…I hurt him," mumbled Olive softly.

"Yeah, you did," Qrow confirmed. He hissed inwardly when he saw the damage; the boy's legs were absent from the knees down. "That _was_ kinda brutal."

"I didn't mean to," murmured Olive. "I just…reacted. It happens sometimes, when I feel like I'm not in control of myself, and my body does things my mind is tell me 'no' to."

"Those are called 'instincts', princess, and you've got some good ones," said Qrow.

That didn't make Olive feel better. Qrow looked down at the Huntress-in-training with a frown then peeked over her shoulder and saw her weapon lying on the ground a few feet away. He walked around his charge and picked up the armband, kindly brushing off the dirt and muck before returning to Olive. He pulled out Olive's arm and the girl didn't refuse him, allowing the older Huntsman to clamp the weapon back on her forearm.

"Listen, Olive, I know you don't want to hear me say this," said Qrow, "but it is gonna get easier as you get older. Fighter, hunting, hurting – all of it. I know you don't want it to, but that's the kind of world we have to live with. It's either hunt and survive, be hunted and die. Your instincts said you didn't want to die, so the reacted to defend yourself. It's nothing to feel sorry about."

"It's different than hunting Grimm," said Olive. "Grimm are soulless beasts that feel no pain. But people are – "

"Some people are just as bad, if not worse than the Grimm," Qrow interrupted. "Look, Olive, you're about to be a Huntress soon, which means you gonna have to make a lot of difficult decisions. Being a Hunter…you try to save as many people as you can, but that doesn't mean you can save everybody. But if you can't find a way to live with that, next time... maybe nobody gets saved. Ya understand?"

"…yeah," said Olive, nodding slowly.

"You'll do fine, Olive, trust me," said Qrow, standing up and ruffling her hair; Olive laughed. "Well, since our ride is jacked, looks like we'll be walking to port."

"You could use the exercise, old timer" aid Olive teasingly.

"Hey…," said Qrow, giving her the stink eye.

Olive laughed as they walked down the road, side-by-side, towards the rising sun.

* * *

 **STRATOS  
HONEY  
DOMINO  
OLIVE**

 **oooo**

 **Team SHDO**

* * *

 **Remnant Bio-Card**

 **Name:** Olive Evergreen  
 **Age:** 17  
 **Kingdom of Origin:** Mistral **  
Occupation:** Shade Academy Student **  
Team:** Team SHDO  
 **Partner:** Domino Bones  
 **Relatives:** (Unnamed Father) (Unnamed Mother)  
 **Semblance:** Shatter  
\- The ability to break down matter regardless of hardness or condition  
\- Cannot use semblance on non-physical objects (fire, lightning, etc.)  
\- Subject is not immune to self-harm; must handle with extreme caution.  
 **Weapon (s):** Spring Lotus  
\- A wrist-mounted device that projects aura as a shield or crossbow  
\- Weapon draws energy directly from user's aura.  
\- Overuse of weapon can result in aura fatigue  
 **Characteristics:  
\- **Owns a Mistral White Pigeon named Harmony  
\- Suspected affiliation with Remnant Ore Distribution (R.O.D.) Company  
\- Owns a secret stash of GL literature.


End file.
